Leema Xero Spks.indd - Audioworld

REVIEWXero sum gameLeema Acoustics’ latest mini-monitor is called the Xero, andpromises extensive improvements at no extra cost. In fact, they’re£330 cheaper, says David Price...HI-FI WORLDThe little Leema Xens wereone memorable highlightof last year’s bleak winter.At just £1,000 (less onepound) they provided asuperb, classic mini monitorsound in the vein of the RogersLS3/5a and Harbeth HL-K3ES. Hardlysurprising really, as Leema Acousticswas formed by two ex-Beeb engineers,Lee Taylor and MalloryNichols.Indeed, the latter was involvedin the manufacturing of MAGTRAXmonitors for recording studios andmastering companies from the earlynineties and Lee Taylor, the recipientof BAFTA and Palme d’Or awards,is experienced in recording andmixing for television, music and film.In short, although the company is ayoung one, the Xero’s designers are52 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 2007 www.hi-fiworld.co.ukold hands – and its shows when youplug them in....Whereas the £999 Xen was thecompany’s first loudspeaker, the £670Xero is its third, and is essentially adownsized Xen – and unusually thesedays, Leema has seen fit to pass onthe price saving of the slightly smallercabinets and simpler construction.The Xen used a hybrid steel andwood cabinet with metal front baffle,whereas the Xero employs a moreconventional all wood affair. It’sslightly smaller at 220x140x206mmand lighter at 10kg (still a lot fora speaker of this size). Althoughthe Xen’s metal front baffle lookedbeautiful, certainly the Xero doesn’tseem any less well built and appearsjust as robust. Internally, there isextensive damping from a doublelayer of bitumastic lining.The Xeros feature a 1-inch(25.5mm approx.) Vifa Tymphanyfabric dome tweeter that useshigh-flux neodymium magnetsand ferro-fluid damping, plus anew bespoke 100mm magneticallyscreened mid-bass driver marked‘Leema Acoustics’. The crossoveruses hand-wound air-cored inductors,high quality capacitors and PCBs withthinner multi track copper, ratherthan a typical fatter single layer.Whereas the Xen ran two semirestrictivebass ports on the frontbaffle, the Xero has a single, fluted,rear mounted, free flowing 25mmaffair. Just above this is a block ofbi-wireable binding posts with goldplated links. The wood veneer wasof excellent quality and comes in achoice of Cherry, Birds Eye Maple,Black, Ebony or Black Ash.

Quoted sensitivity is 86dB [seeMEASURED PERFORMANCE]which means that only reasonablypowerful amplification need apply. Ifound the Xero less than happy onthe end of my World Audio 20Wvalve amplifier, and instead substitutedthe excellent NuForce Ref 9SEmonoblocks which proved more thancomfortable with the Xeros. I foundthey worked best on Atacama 24”stands, about 30cm from my backwall, toed in slightly – although youcan run them slightly closer to therear walls without setting their bassports off and provoking them intoresonance. They were fed from theNuForce monoblocks with the superbClearer Audio Optimus Referenceloudspeaker cable.SOUND QUALITYSounding a touch shrill and cloudy,initial results weren’t positive, butcareful positioning and a good warmthrough began to bring real rewards. Aslight tighten of the drive unit screws,some Blu-tac to lock them ontotheir stands and an extended run-inbrought an even more impressivesound. At last the Leema Xeros wereready to rock...Simple Minds’ ‘Promised You aMiracle’ was the first track to goon, and the Leemas proved utterlyunfazed by the big, fat bass lines andpowerful drum work. Played on lesserequipment, this song can sound like adirge, but the Xeros cut through theslightly ‘grey’ mix and began to unpackthe track, throwing all its individualelements in sharp relief. Their basicsound was very clean, open anddetailed in the greatest tradition ofBBC mini monitors, but they didn’tsound as slow, lightweight or nasalas LS3/5as – indeed they are morereminiscent of Acoustic Energy AE1Classics in the way they’re detailed yettruly dynamic.Considering they run bassdrivers the size of beer mats,these loudspeakers are extremelyconvincing in the low frequencies,in two respects. First, they go downlow and are tight and taut with it,with no sense of the bloated, boomyboxiness you get from most speakersrunning bass ports. Second, theydon’t compress the sound even athigh levels and/or with wall-crackingtransients. There was no sense of atiny driver huffing and puffing througha big bass port in an attempt to drivethe room. This is a very clever trickfor such a small box, and one seldomexperienced at this size and/or pricepoint. Of course, you don’t get TannoyWestminster-style seismic activity, butthere’s a confidence there that beliestheir baby boxes.Moving up to the midband andthis is where the Leemas shinebrightest. The insight from theXeros wasn’t noticeably less thanmy reference Mel Audio Horamas,which are approximately five timesthe price. Indeed, there’s a degree oftransparency here that you’d be happyto get from any speaker of any sizecosting £670, let alone these pint pots.Troy Overwater’s ‘Op’ SACD, a jazz/classical fusion recording of stunningclarity showed the Leemas to be ablefar beyond expectation. The strikingdynamics from the drum kit anddouble bass, allied to some beautifullysilky tenor sax sounds showed thesespeakers at their best.Indeed, most impressive (fortheir size and price) was theirwinning combination of musicalityand couthness. Whereas some lessboxes are good fun to listen to yetrough and ready with it, or others arethese loudspeakers are extremelyconvincing in the low frequenciesconsummately well mannered yet dullas dishwater to listen to, the Xerosare blessed with an Acoustic EnergyAE1-style joie de vivre, yet they remindme of the Harbeth HL-K3ES in theircivilised demeanour – providingthey’re fed with a good source.The first track on‘Op’, ‘Laverne Walk’ wasa delight to listen to, theLeemas getting into theswing of things, whilstnever showing signs ofdistress at high levels.The cymbal work was noless enjoyable, the Xerosgiving decent smoothnessto the hi-hats and ridecymbals. The clarinetand flugelhorn workon ‘Two Little Pearls’can often grate on thisstarkly open recording,but the Leemas remainedunstrained. I particularlyenjoyed the way theseloudspeakers conveyedthe vibrant texturingof these acousticinstruments.In absolute terms,against the far pricierreference Mel AudioHoramas, the Leemasperformed startlinglywell, their only weak spot being amarginal lack of treble ambienceand less confidence when it came toimaging ‘out of the box’. Being verycompact mini-monitors, the Leemasproject very well indeed - just asyou’d expect - but they’re just a tadmore directional than some and soa touch of toe-in helps here. Takingthe grilles off also helps, but this canalso make the upper midband ever soREVIEWslightly forward forREFERENCE SYSTEMmore conservativeMarantz CD63KI DP CD playertastes. For example,MF Audio Silver Passive Preamplifieron Donald Fagen’sNuForce Reference 9SE power amplifiers‘Tomorrow’s Girls’Mel Audio Horama loudspeakers(an upfront andunashamedly ‘well lit’recording), they could sound a tadbright when run ‘naked’.CONCLUSIONThe Leema Xeros produced a superbsound in their own right, and duringthe audition period I had to constantlyremind myself that I was listening toa sub £1,000 pair of loudspeakers.They are tremendously musical,boasting nine tenths of the AcousticEnergy AE1 Classic’s redoubtableskill in this respect, yet offer moredetail, clarity and finesse as far as Icould discern. At £670 they are, to allintents and purposes flawless – and inabsolute terms they’re easily capableof working with high end equipment;indeed, it’s almost a shame not todeploy them this way. Regular readersmight have noticed I’m a fan of Leema;it’s rare to find a newish Britishcompany doing such interesting,impressive and able electronics andloudspeakers. Long may they run!The Leema Xeros have a gentle lift totheir response right in the midband, andso should offer good midrange detailand vocal projection as a result. Thelift peaks at the exact region whereharshness can become a problemhowever, and so they may need carefulmatching to ensure that they do notbecome a little edgy.At the top end, the response startsto fall at around 16kHz which, whilstnot being obviously noticeable, mayrob some treble atmosphere from theoverall presentation.Bass is fine for such a dinkyenclosure, output from the drive rollingoff below 100Hz or so, and the portstrutting its stuff at 50Hz, but the Xeroswill not shake the room.Electrically, the Xeros are notso well damped at the bass end, buthave a nice easy measured averageimpedance of 10.8 Ohms, dropping toa minimum of around 7 Ohms, so theyare not a difficult load. This will gosome way to making up for their lowVERDICTExcellent class-leading mini monitorswith musicality, finesse and detail thatbelies their humble price tag – partnerwith high end electronics for superresults.LEEMA ACOUSTICS XERO £670Leema Acoustics+44 (0)1635 291 357www.leema-acoustics.comwww.hi-fiworld.co.uk OCTOBER 2007 HI-FI WORLD 53)MEASURED PERFORMANCEFOR- resolution, speed- musicality, tonality- valueAGAINST- nothing at the pricesensitivity of 84dB and meaning that60W or so from a driving amplifierwould be wise. ASFREQUENCY RESPONSEGreen - driver outputRed - port outputIMPEDANCEHI-FI WORLD