Leak’s new Sandwich speakers could go ahead and inherit the 1960s hi-fi room of my dreams – and possibly our best stereo speaker guide too. Just look at them.
Don’t get carried away with retro, though: Leak has used the ample R&D time since the inaugural 1961 Sandwich to completely rework the recipe, with each of these two new Sandwich stand-mount speaker options packed with modern technology.
The original Leak Sandwich speaker owes its name to the then unique construction of the mid/bass driver. It was the first to be made from a ‘sandwich’ of different materials: expanded polystyrene foam between two sheets of aluminum foil. The result? A light yet stiff cone that reduced distortion for a smoother, more accurate sound – and a driver so stiff that founder Harold Leak actually featured it in promotional shots at the time.
As you’d hope, the Sandwich 150 and 250 bring that idea straight to today’s 2024 by introducing a rigid aluminum skin to the outer surfaces of the drive unit, bonded to a core of aircraft-grade polymethacrylimide (PMI) structural foam, which leaks. claims provides “tremendous stiffness”.
The Sandwich 250 is the larger of the two new models, it is a three-way stand-mounted speaker versus the two-way Sandwich 150. Both have a 30mm textile dome tweeter, but the 250 combines this with 109mm midrange and 280mm bass drivers , while the 150 processes your music using a 170mm mid/bass driver. Leak’s signature Aluminum-Foamcore Sandwich cone is of course present throughout.
A superior sandwich
At the back the cabinets feature dual ports, which should boost bass response and make them as fussy as I want them to be – this is hi-fi, we absolutely should tinkering with the best placement and compatible amplification and therefore the best sound.
And the sandwich theme continues into the cupboard build! A special adhesive padding (lekker) is placed between an outer layer of MDF and an inner layer of high-density chipboard for better damping and of course you get Leak’s spot reinforcement in the cabinet. Then there’s the hand-applied walnut veneer, aluminum driver finishes and an aluminum insert around the edge of the front baffle. In short: they are beautiful things.
So how much will this hi-fi meal cost you? The Leak Sandwich 250 is 65.5cm high and costs $2,495 / £1,999 / AU$4,799 per pair, while the Sandwich 150 is 41.5cm high and costs $1,295 / £999 / AU$2,399 per pair – so a expensive lunch, but we’re worth it.
Oh, and if you want the Sandwich 250 plus special stands (which is an excellent choice in my opinion), then that’s $2,995 / £2,299 / AU$569 all-in.
For me, hi-fi clearly has a place for both heritage designs (see Tannoy’s Stirling III LZ Special Edition or the Sonus Faber Duetto) and the eerily futuristic (see Wilson Audio Alexia V, Ferguson Hill’s transparent horn speakers, Fyne’s F1 and the Sonus Faber Suprema system for starters), depending on your music source and what you want to connect it to. However, if you go the heritage route, these speakers look incredibly gifted.
The Sandwich 150 and 250 from British firm Cambridge arrive just before the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, which means I hope to catch a glimpse – and hopefully even hear – of them in a week or so. Watch this space…