Exposure 2510 review/ A British Audiophile
- Thread starter Allaboutmusic
- Start date
Del monaco
Del Monaco
He’s very good. He balances a good technical knowledge with realistic reviews that don’t talk about night and day differences etc. I liked his review if the Yammy AS 1200.
Johnjo
pfm Member
Surprisingly it’s a completely different amplifier. I demoed the last of the 2010, 3010 and 2510 back to back with the XM CD player and Proac speakers.
As stated upthread the 3010 is a different animal being much bolder and authoritative and powerful but tends to paint everything with the same brush which is slightly big and bullish for my tastes.
While vibrant and punchy the 2010 had a delicacy and naturalness which shone through which I found more engaging but could be harsh/thin sounding. I was fully intending to buy this amp especially as it was at a knock down price but the moment the 2510 was connected I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Compared to the 2010 the 2510 is much more refined and mature sounding yet retains that engaging Exposure sound. It’s quieter too which you don’t notice with the previous generation amps but it’s unmistakable, backgrounds are inky black in comparison which lets a lot more texture and nuance through. I do like a passive pre front end amp and this is a cracker for sure.
Also the Tony and Rob at Exposure are very approachable, down to earth and helpful. I found the phonostage slightly heavy sounding (coming from an expensive McIntosh preamp) so after a quick chat with them via email the amp was sent back to Exposure to have the input capacitance reduced from around 300pF to 150pF which was all it needed to suit me and I love it now. Exposure paid the return carriage and turned the amp around in days and it sounds fantastic. This level of service is worth its weight in gold I think and I can’t praise them enough.
I would like to hear the 3510 but I think I’d prefer the passive pre of the 2510 but maybe not. 5010 are on my long term radar
EDIT: I should have said Exposure didn’t charge me a penny for the mods to the phonostage of my amp!
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Gomers1607
pfm Member
Surprisingly it’s a completely different amplifier. I demoed the last of the 2010, 3010 and 2510 back to back with the XM CD player and Proac speakers.
As stated upthread the 3010 is a different animal being much bolder and authoritative and powerful but tends to paint everything with the same brush which is slightly big and bullish for my tastes.
While vibrant and punchy the 2010 had a delicacy and naturalness which shone through which I found more engaging but could be harsh/thin sounding. I was fully intending to buy this amp especially as it was at a knock down price but the moment the 2510 was connected I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Compared to the 2010 the 2510 is much more refined and mature sounding yet retains that engaging Exposure sound. It’s quieter too which you don’t notice with the previous generation amps but it’s unmistakable, backgrounds are inky black in comparison which lets a lot more texture and nuance through. I do like a passive pre front end amp and this is a cracker for sure.
Also the Tony and Rob at Exposure are very approachable, down to earth and helpful. I found the phonostage slightly heavy sounding (coming from an expensive McIntosh preamp) so after a quick chat with them via email the amp was sent back to Exposure to have the input capacitance reduced from around 300pF to 150pF which was all it needed to suit me and I love it now. Exposure paid the return carriage and turned the amp around in days and it sounds fantastic. This level of service is worth its weight in gold I think and I can’t praise them enough.
I would like to hear the 3510 but I think I’d prefer the passive pre of the 2510 but maybe not. 5010 are on my long term radar
Thanks for this insight, very interesting and as you mentioned, surprising. Exposure really haven't detailed the changes between the 2510 and the last 2010S2D, I really thought bar the included phono stage and dropping one set of speaker inputs, they were pretty much the same amp.
Johnjo
pfm Member
I don’t know about circuit revisions but it’s a much tidier looking main board with some surface mount components which I don’t believe the 2010 had. I bet the S/N ratio is improved.
puddlesplasher
pfm Member
I wonder if we will get a 5510 series
Johnjo
pfm Member
I was thinking about that too!
Allaboutmusic
pfm Member
A 5510 integrated would be good too!
Gomers1607
pfm Member
I do hope you're not going to cost me money John
Got a 2510 on home dem for a week, curious to see how it compares with my Elex-R which I had a very nice, low level session with last night playing Beta Band. I like the Rega a lot.
Johnjo
pfm Member
I do hope you're not going to cost me money John
Got a 2510 on home dem for a week, curious to see how it compares with my Elex-R which I had a very nice, low level session with last night playing Beta Band. I like the Rega a lot.
The Elex-R is a great amp, I had one a number of years back and really enjoyed it, very rhythmic and dynamic. It’s been a while but I expect the Exposure to sound a bit more mature, dimensional and textured. The Rega may sound more punchy and driven.
Will be interesting to hear your findings.
Rockmeister
pfm Member
Please report back! I'm on the point of getting a 2510, so all opinions valuable.I do hope you're not going to cost me money John
Got a 2510 on home dem for a week, curious to see how it compares with my Elex-R which I had a very nice, low level session with last night playing Beta Band. I like the Rega a lot.
Johnjo
pfm Member
A few tips on getting the best from the 2510, it hasn’t got a big mains transformer so get it plugged straight into a wall socket, not through extension leads and use a decent gauge cable, heavier the better to keep impedance down. Also, as it’s a passive front end, use a short interconnect from your source if you can, 0.5m is good.
I also noticed an improvement getting my speaker cables separated from each other and raised off the carpet (doesn’t have to be expensive, folded cardboard or cut up egg box is an easy trial) but this may be cable/flooring dependent. This is possibly the fooiest thing I’ve ever tried but the difference here is undeniable, YMMV.
These tweaks have got my 2510 really driving the speakers hard in a manner similar to the 3010 but with the 2510’s inherent sweetness intact.
Might be of help
I also noticed an improvement getting my speaker cables separated from each other and raised off the carpet (doesn’t have to be expensive, folded cardboard or cut up egg box is an easy trial) but this may be cable/flooring dependent. This is possibly the fooiest thing I’ve ever tried but the difference here is undeniable, YMMV.
These tweaks have got my 2510 really driving the speakers hard in a manner similar to the 3010 but with the 2510’s inherent sweetness intact.
Might be of help
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Rega budget integrateds such as the Brio R are great value and sounds ok but not very good when compared to higher quality amps. I was made to understand that the Aethos and Osiris are the better designs from Rega that sound excellent but they cost quite a bit more.
I owned a Rega Elicit mk2 and it sounds decent but not great.
Would the new 2510 be an improvement over the older 2010S ?
I’m using a 2010S at present (bought through the classifiedes here) and I’m impressed with it.
I bought the 2010S as I never tried an Exposure amp in my system so wanted to try it and then maybe move up to one of the newer models.
I’m using a 2010S at present (bought through the classifiedes here) and I’m impressed with it.
I bought the 2010S as I never tried an Exposure amp in my system so wanted to try it and then maybe move up to one of the newer models.
Gomers1607
pfm Member
I demoed the Ghost Ryder track that Tarun had mentioned as a 'finger-in-the-air' as to where the 2 amps were, massively produced electronica, not quite my genre but a good test track.
The 2510 had been on for most of the day so was warm, my Elex-R off and stone cold so technically not a fair comparison. The 2510 sounded fabulous as I knew it would. Then had to switch off, swap cables around and power on the Rega. Wider soundstage on the Rega without question. The really low bass frequency seems a little muddled on the Rega (cold amp remember), perhaps the Exposure does show its greater refinement here.
Going back for more tonight so will report back.
Edit*. I will say based on that one track test, the £700 price difference seems difficult to justify.
Gomers1607
pfm Member
Well, the 2510 is back in its box. After quite a lengthy session with both amps yesterday, and much PITA swapping between both amps, the conclusion was fairly straightforward. While the Exposure is a fantastic device, there just isn't enough 'extra' to justify the additional cost.
My initial thoughts stand, at least in my set up (ND5 XS2, Apollo-R, Talisman 2). The Rega has more soundstage depth and width. This quality is more noticeable on tracks that have the greatest sense of space engineered into the recording but it's there. By contrast, the 2510 deals a smidge better with absolute bass authority, seems to have a tiny bit more 'grip' without the iron fisted control my old 3010 S2D used to have.
Many pro reviews will wax lyrical and brand the Rega as 'dynamic' and 'musical', the 2510 as being the epitome of neutrality. The luddite in me can't really segregate these opinions into meaningful experiences to be honest. Both amps sound superb in my humble view, either will be a fine addition if you're looking for a quality integrated. The price difference at RRP is hard to ignore though.
Apologies if my comparison conclusion appears a tad lacklustre, I have a massive fondness for Exposure and did wonder casually if there was going to be a night and day epiphany but the plucky Rega puts up a very good fight.
Finally on the subject of build quality, even with a perfect Exposure, the Rega wins, my example is properly solid and very well screwed together, the input lights are amusing though, looking down at the amp powered up makes it look like 2 lights are lit at once, looking at it from eye level, only one light lit. The demo Exposure I had wasn't the best I thought, one of the feet fell off ! More intriguing was the sticky volume control that would not operate past 12 o'clock with the remote and had to be manually moved past this point, I'd make a point of checking this if you were buying. The aluminium casework of the Exposure seems better than the 2010S2D I used to own which had a quite rough texture, the 2510 seems a lot smoother.
Fine amplifiers, both of them.
My initial thoughts stand, at least in my set up (ND5 XS2, Apollo-R, Talisman 2). The Rega has more soundstage depth and width. This quality is more noticeable on tracks that have the greatest sense of space engineered into the recording but it's there. By contrast, the 2510 deals a smidge better with absolute bass authority, seems to have a tiny bit more 'grip' without the iron fisted control my old 3010 S2D used to have.
Many pro reviews will wax lyrical and brand the Rega as 'dynamic' and 'musical', the 2510 as being the epitome of neutrality. The luddite in me can't really segregate these opinions into meaningful experiences to be honest. Both amps sound superb in my humble view, either will be a fine addition if you're looking for a quality integrated. The price difference at RRP is hard to ignore though.
Apologies if my comparison conclusion appears a tad lacklustre, I have a massive fondness for Exposure and did wonder casually if there was going to be a night and day epiphany but the plucky Rega puts up a very good fight.
Finally on the subject of build quality, even with a perfect Exposure, the Rega wins, my example is properly solid and very well screwed together, the input lights are amusing though, looking down at the amp powered up makes it look like 2 lights are lit at once, looking at it from eye level, only one light lit. The demo Exposure I had wasn't the best I thought, one of the feet fell off ! More intriguing was the sticky volume control that would not operate past 12 o'clock with the remote and had to be manually moved past this point, I'd make a point of checking this if you were buying. The aluminium casework of the Exposure seems better than the 2010S2D I used to own which had a quite rough texture, the 2510 seems a lot smoother.
Fine amplifiers, both of them.
Gomers1607
pfm Member
The 2010S was the amp that astonished Art Dudley in his excellent Stereophile review back in 2005. The 2510 is the current refinement to that original design with improvements that will be either noticeable, or not. I'd expect additional refinement from the newer design but as they say, YMMV.
Barkiss
pfm Member
Ain't it the truth, though. You can spend all the time in the world reading and viewing, weighing up contrasting (if not downright contradictory) opinions, then go along and take a listen yourself. And it's WTF was X or Y talking about - it isn't like that at all to me. There is no substitute for your own ears in your own room with your own system. And I hope I remember that next time I go to audition an amp ...