Leben CS-300 XS: the magic of valves made in Japan

The Leben CS-300 XS is a tube amplifier, strictly made in Japan coming from a tradition rich in charm and history.

Leben CS-300 XS: tradition and good sound

Handmade in Japan, this Leben CS-300 XS with its 15W is capable of captivating and bewitching the enthusiast who will find himself enveloped in a timeless, magical sound. Capable beyond imagination of driving, even creating good listening levels, if mastered it leads into an almost mystical listening experience, not for nothing it is an iconic product with numerous passionate amateur blogs around the world. The look is another of the unique features of this 300XS, heavily inspired by the electronics of the rising sun of the early 1970s, it features hand-polished Canadian white ash sides and green and gold colors.

Price: €5,950

Distributor: Audio Point Italia S.r.l.

Technical specifications.

Valves used: Sovtek EL84 & 12AX7A
Output power: 15W per channel
Frequency response: 15Hz-100kHz (-2dB)
Distortion: 0.7% (10W)
Input sensitivity: 600mV
Input impedance: 100kohm
Power Consumption: 62W
Weight: 10.5kg
Dimensions: 360X270X140

About Leben

Leben Hi-Fi Stereo Company is a Japanese manufacturer of tube amplification such as there are no longer any around the world. The designer and owner of Leben is Taku Hyodo, considered one of Japan’s greatest connoisseurs and designers of tube amplification.Hyodo is an engineer who has worked with the likes of Luxman in the past. Added to this is his great experience as a musician and particularly as a guitarist.

Taku Hyodo in addition to being, engineer, musician and maker of the Leben CS-300 XS is also a collector of tubes such as the 3CSS, 12AT7, E288CC, 6L6GC (5881), which Hyodo uses in making Leben amplifiers. Soon after leaving Luxman, Hyodo established “Kouri Denki Co.” (manufacturing of electrical/electronic components, parts and PCBs) back in 1979, when he was only 30 years old. In addition to the production of electronic components and parts, he continued to produce amplifiers under the brand name “KFH,” mainly for venues such as bars, restaurants, etc.

The first commercial product “TRIODE 33” (under the brand name “KFH”) was presented in 1991 with a 3C33 valve, while the first model under the brand name “Leben” was a power amplifier: the RS-35a (with 6L6GC) presented in 1995, and then a preamplifier: the RS-28c (with E288CC) in 1998. At some point Leben pulls attractively priced amplifiers such as CS-200, CS-250, CS-300, CS-300X out of the hat to enable more music lovers to enjoy Leben’s tube sound without investing crazy amounts of money. All Leben products are handmade and point-to-point wired. Strictly made in Japan, Leben tube amplifiers are characterized by high reliability. All Leben products are based on auto-bias to allow users to replace valves without adjusting the bias and still operate stably