Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1216-leema-acoustics-tucana-ii-anniversary-edition-integrated-amplifier

Leema’s Tucana AE now joins the ATC SCM40, Rega Planar 10, and Michell GyroDec on my list of high-end bargains. In an age of inflated pricing and a trend towards ludicrous uber-fi, it’s reassuring to find some firms still building beautifully engineered, affordable audio equipment here in the UK. It’s also comforting to realize that there’s no need to outsource all our manufacturing capability to the Far East. We can build things economically in Europe or North America if we apply manufacturing synergy and intelligence to the challenge. Frankly, it does matter to me where products are built, for all sorts of reasons. I like it when I see “Manufactured by SME Ltd, Steyning, Sussex, England” on a tonearm box, or “Minnetonka, Minnesota” and “Made in U.S.A.” on the rear panel of an Audio Research amplifier. For me, there’s a line in the sand with respect to high-end audio, and I’m drawing it!

The UK, the rest of Europe, the US, and Canada have proud audio-engineering heritages, and as consumers we need to be mindful of our purchasing decisions if we want to preserve them. I had begun to fear that in another ten years, the only brands actually still making audio electronics in the West would be those with the highest price tags, but I think that Leema Acoustics, Rega, ATC, and a few others are really pointing the way forward here.

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