Firsts in High Fidelity - The Products and History of H. J. Leak & Co. Ltd

This book is the definitive history of H. J. Leak & Co. Ltd. — one of the world’s leading high-fidelity audio companies of the post-war era. The book’s foundation rests upon interviews with, and contributions from, thirteen former staff of the company.

This is the new third edition of “Firsts In High Fidelity” which has been updated and superbly printed. It will be perfectly comfortable, placed on that coffee table between your two best loudspeakers.

• Full colour offset printing

• Saddle stitched hardback, with dust-jacket

• 336 pages

• Over 400 illustrations

• A compendium of 30 circuit diagrams

• Firsts In High Fidelity: 

  •    The Products and History of H. J. Leak & Co. Ltd.

  •    by Stephen Spicer.

• Third Edition, 2023

• ISBN 978-0-646-87390-9

• Published by Tunnel Gap Press, Australia.

About This Book

This book is the comprehensive story of one of the world’s finest high-fidelity audio companies – H. J. Leak & Co. Ltd. From its humble beginnings in 1934, it grew into an internationally recognised brand during the boom years of “hi-fi” in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Previous employees of the company, and the Leak family, have enthusiastically contributed to this book, through interviews, stories, and photographs from personal collections. This brings a sense of reality to the operations of the Leak company, and how it converted its values into highly successful audio products. Detailed technical information is presented in conjunction with numerous illustrations, and a compendium of circuit diagrams for over thirty Leak products.

For the first time, this book is beautifully presented as a hardback and printed in colour with a dust jacket. It is an essential item for the coffee tables of audio enthusiasts, fascinated with those post-war years in which audio products truly embodied the ideals of high fidelity sound.