FoTF old Exposure Amps

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terrybooth
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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by terrybooth »

Sovereign wrote: Now I understand, the large following is for the Classic era, I would say that the 2010 is not one of those, you want to listen to IVDR or XVI monos or VIII or XVIII monos or VIIo or XI or XIV pre amp. Very very good amps indeed. Never herd their integrated amps though.
Indeed, the 2010 was, in my opinion just past the classic era. From memory, the integrated X and XV were quite late on in the 'Farlowe' era before that it was all pre-power combos.
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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

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Jammy - I've had Exposure set-ups since the mid-80s. I've gone through almost every iteration of the pre/powers, and a couple of the integrateds. Every one of them had significant strengths, some had weaknesses. Since the late 70s, I've had amps from Naim, Densen, Restek, Musical Fidelity, NVA, NAD, JVC, Quad, etc. I always come back to Exposure. The only ones I have found that I could spend time with long-term would be NVA, but then again, there are a multitude of amps I've yet to hear.

I've settled on the new Exposure MCX pre (their flagship one), and four of the farlowe-era Exposure XVI Mono power amps - in my opinion, by far and away the best amps John ever built. It's the best of the Farlowe and Brady eras of Exposure. I see no reason to change, as they do all I require from them: they make me want to listen to music more and more, to the point where I find it difficult to move away from the system. It's all I can ask...
T/T: Trio L-07D/Benz Glider; Dynavector DV507 MK II/Ortofon Cadenza Blue. Phono: Whest PS30R SE. CDPs: Esoteric UX-1; Micromega Classic Solo; Oppo BDP-95. Digital: Cambridge CXN V2. R2R: Technics RS-1700. Amps: Exposure MCX Pre/4 x Exposure XVI Mono Power. Speakers: Jamo R909; Audiosmile Supertweeters Mk.2. Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-1000W. Mains: NVA BMU

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote:Well at different times you have said the same about NVA and you are very happy with your Sony. It would be nice to organise a bake off of all three, I will supply the NVA.
I have to say this confuses me somewhat , especially the NVA and the Sony , as these would seem to have diametrically oppossed design philopshphies - hard wired v surface mount , minimalist v tone controls , dual speakers, balance ,metal/copper v perspecx ] Just goes to show there's more than 1 way to make an omelete .

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Different strokes for different folks. The Sony Gromit has is long before surface mount, when they used real components. The major difference is knobs and buttons. Do you know that some people in the 70's would count the buttons and knobs and buy the amp with the highest number :roll: The Japs knew this and fed that market. They called it facilities.

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Gromit »

Daniel Quinn wrote:
I have to say this confuses me somewhat , especially the NVA and the Sony , as these would seem to have diametrically oppossed design philopshphies - hard wired v surface mount , minimalist v tone controls , dual speakers, balance ,metal/copper v perspecx ] Just goes to show there's more than 1 way to make an omelete .
It's a fair point DQ, and a good question aswell.

I've had a fair few amps over the years, but in the back of my mind tonal differences are something which the ear gets accustomed to over time. Unless it's seriously wide of the mark, the human ear is a clever old thing and before we know it, the 'new' sound which at first seemed slightly odd, is now the norm and becomes our point of reference. That's why you'll never (or very rarely) hear me talk about 'ooh the bass is this...or the midrange is that' etc etc.

I'm lucky (unlucky??) to listen to live instruments every day of my working life so from that point of view yes I do have a very handy point of reference. Still, in no way is it infallible.

Now we get onto the real nitty gritty and what for me makes an amp (and the system before and after it) tick.

Dynamics and timing. They are everything. Music dies without them. Read a very moving story and remove all the inflections, the subtle shifts in the delivery, full stops, commas, and the timing of them and what you've got left is a string of words which means nothing. In music, dynamics are those inflections which give music its message, its meaning, its colour.

Of course each word can be a lovely thing in its own right but it's just a vertical moment in time. It bears no relation to what came before or comes after it. For me that is the 'ooh it sounds lovely' approach to listening ie the obsession with bass/middle/treble yadda yadda. Music is a horizontal entity - it is the string, the long-chain molecules rather than the single atoms which when joined together properly produce something truly beautiful. It's how I listen to music be it live or via a hifi system, and I will never change that priority.

Where does this leave the amps?

The Exposure, NVA & Sony all seem to have a really good knack of preserving this - I've had others which do it well, and I include a couple of valve amps among them, but these 3 seem to do it the best (I've also had one or 2 which were total disasters). Yes, their presentation in hifi terms is quite different: The Exposure is ballsy, full of bluster and whilst not the most subtle it's a great ride.

The NVA is definitely more delicate/detailed and has a broader reach tonally, not quite as ballsy but hardly lacking - especially the larger monos such as the A80's I had.

The Sony (especially the big one I have now) is just a monster of the thing - not as delicate or subtle as I seem to remember the NVAs being (it's been a long time though so memory isn't great!) but I'd say it's easily got the dynamic pyrotechnics of the Exposures if not quite the ability to get down & dirty.
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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

I am no longer confused , which is more a consequence of your excellant explanation than any of the brain cells I may have left . :D

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Gromit am da man and always has been for me, forget the stupid nonsense that is review speak that Jerry tries to emulate. You have here a one man show - brilliant photography, brilliant explanations and when he does a review on something new he likes then really good prose as well.

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by Theo »

I've always enjoyed reading Gromit's descriptions of his musical journey. I completely agree with the principle of amps that can fully exploit the dynamics and timing embedded within recordings: I still think that this is the key strength of all Exposure amps I've played with/owned.
T/T: Trio L-07D/Benz Glider; Dynavector DV507 MK II/Ortofon Cadenza Blue. Phono: Whest PS30R SE. CDPs: Esoteric UX-1; Micromega Classic Solo; Oppo BDP-95. Digital: Cambridge CXN V2. R2R: Technics RS-1700. Amps: Exposure MCX Pre/4 x Exposure XVI Mono Power. Speakers: Jamo R909; Audiosmile Supertweeters Mk.2. Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-1000W. Mains: NVA BMU

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by southall-1998 »

Need some little help Chaps.

Is my Exposure XV an early or later version? Or does this require opening the XV to tell?

S.

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Re: FoTF old Exposure Amps

Unread post by terrybooth »

Dunno. But I do know that Exposure are very helpful and I'm pretty sure that if you eMailed the serial number of the amp to them they would tell. you.

There are certainly beyond my Exposure amp era. My exposures have the square boxes but the old logo (the early exposure amps had a top which bent over the sides and looked a little like it was made of old tin cans.

If I remember correctly, the first Exposure integrated was the X so the XV is later than that.

The Exposure Cd I have has the same logo and that dates from the 1980s.

Try the contact us page on their web site.http://www.exposurehifi.com/contact-us.html
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