Leema Acoustics has launched its new Pulse III amplifier and Stream III CD player a little later than originally announced.

Originally slated for May release after getting their first outing at the Bristol Show in February, the pair go on sale this month at the slightly higher price of £1,495 each (they were originally supposed to be £1,400).

The pair replace the original Pulse series, but Leema says they decided to call them Pulse III rather than Pulse II because they represent such a significant technical advance over their predecessors.

They come in white or black gloss finishes, with solid aluminium fascias, and the Stream III CD player has a new slot-loading transport controlled by Leema’s own custom-made Navimech firmware.

The Stream III also has a new Leema Quad DAC, a new refinement of the company’s own MD2 multi-DAC, which offers a shorter signal path and promises “even better performance”.

The Pulse II amp has four digital inputs (two optical, one coaxial and a USB) for connecting a wide range of external sources, including music servers, TV set-top boxes or games consoles. It also has a front-mounted MP3 input, headphone socket, MM/MC phono stage for connecting a turntable and both devices have green credentials with standby power consumption of just 0.5 watts.