Leak - Sandwich 100 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)

Take a Bite and Come Back for More: Leak Sandwich 100 Bookshelf Speakers Offer Sonic Immediacy, Compact Form Factor, Evolved Driver Technology, and Elegant Looks

Sandwiches never fail to satisfy. Particularly when they're devised and assembled as well as the Leak Sandwich 100 bookshelf loudspeakers, which incorporate the latest evolution of a landmark design concept the British company pioneered in the 1960s. Named after aluminum-Rohacell foam “sandwich” cone technology that reduces break-up modes, provides quick transient response, and plays with minimal harmonic distortion, these two-way bass-reflex units convey everything from delicate nuances to powerful attacks with a desirable combination of faithfulness and impact.

Measuring 13.4 x 8.3 x 9.8 inches (HWD), Sandwich 100 is beyond easy to place and takes into account rooms short on plentiful space. Performing with clarity, accuracy, and immediacy — all British audio traditions — each speaker boasts a six-inch sandwich driver built around a long-throw motor system with a high-gauss magnet and low-loss suspension, so that it offers linear excursion even at high levels. It's complemented by a 1.2-inch coated textile dome tweeter that's intentionally larger than most in this price class. Allowing for lower crossover points and superb power handling, it projects high frequencies distinguished with openness, detail, and a touch of sparkle. And let's not forget the crossover with audiophile-grade polypropylene capacitors, air-core inductors, and low-loss resistors arrayed within a precise layout that minimizes phase shift and signal loss.

Lightweight albeit rigid, this driver set offers size-belying depth, bang-on precision, and remarkable transparency. Excellent damping properties, dual rear ports, and advanced acoustic engineering further contribute to the performance of a model that will instantly remind you why the British practically owned this sector during hi-fi’s romanticized golden age.

If the sonics aren’t enough, one look at the retro-minded cabinetry — also in sandwich form via MDF walls and high-density particle-board inner layers, attached to each other via resonance-damping glue — will take you back to a time when craftsmanship remained paramount. With Leak, it never left. The soft-touch matte-back baffle, premium walnut finish, aluminum driver trims, and aluminum insert around edge of the front baffle confirm as much,

Rated at 86dB sensitivity and featuring detachable grilles, Sandwich 100 can be placed on a solid surface or a pair of stands (available separately). Pair them with a capable amplification source — they sing with the Leak Stereo 130 and 230 — and hear what hi-fi sound really sounds like.

New Leak Sandwich Cone
66 years on from the introduction of Leak’s innovative Sandwich cone, speaker designers continue to face the same challenge: how to make driver cones both very light and extremely stiff. Whilst many new materials and construction techniques have been applied to speaker diaphragms since, the sonic shortcomings caused by
sub-optimal stiffness remain widespread. Leak's sandwich cone construction, then, is as relevant now as it was in the 1960s. The latest version of the Sandwich diaphragm is enhanced with a core of Rohacell aircraft-grade structural foam between aluminum skins, bonded with adhesives used in the aerospace industry. The natural qualities of Rohacell make it an ideal component in speaker cone technology, especially because of its exceptional strength-to- weight ratio. Combining this extremely rigid yet lightweight material with an aluminum skin creates a surface that greatly reduces cone break-up, delivers ultrafast transient response, and introduces minimal harmonic and intermodulation distortion. The new 150mm mid/bass driver developed for the Sandwich 100 is built around a long-throw motor system with a high-gauss magnet and low-loss suspension, ensuring linear excursion even at high volume levels. The cone is shaped to naturally reinforce stiffness and suppress breakup modes, maintaining purity across the vocal range and upper bass.

Seamless Integration
Complementing the Sandwich mid/bass driver is a specially developed 30mm coated textile dome treble unit – larger than typical dome tweeters, especially within this price class. This allows for lower crossover points and superior power handling in comparison to speakers of similar size and specification. The treble unit integrates seamlessly with the mid/bass driver thanks to a sophisticated crossover design, developed from extensive listening and engineering trials. It incorporates audiophile-grade polypropylene capacitors, air-core inductors and low-loss resistors. This design ensures accurate time alignment between drivers, maintaining phase coherence and providing a stable, three-dimensional stereo image across a broad listening axis. Off-axis response remains smooth and predictable, which is crucial for real-world placement – whether listening from the sweet spot or moving around the room, imaging and tonal balance remain consistent.