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Exposure 3510 amplifier and soundstage

E

erikv2

Member
Hi everyone, my name is Erik and I am from The Netherlands and quite new here. The children have moved out. And I created an audio and listening spot in the attic. I prefer kind of vintage gear. As it is called nowadays. Eighties, nineties, and also newer but kind of classic approach. Although i can not define what that is precisely.

I found the pink fish media website while looking for information on Epos and Exposure. Since a couple of weeks I am the owner of a pair of Epos ES12s. They sound very nice. The most important thing while listening to music for me is soundstage width and preferable also some depth. So that i get a kind of music landscape in stead of 2 loudspeakers. Very low bass is not too important. And i like speakers on stands. Size about the Epos ES12s.

What i read is that the Epos would benefit form a really powerful amp. Then they get really singing. First i was thinking about a Sugden A21SE. But even second hand they are just to pricey for me. Then i found a just 1 year old Exposure 3510 for a reasonable price. And i found a review of the Exposure 3510 where it was compared to the A21SE. They concluded that musically the 3510 came close to the A21SE.

Also the 3510 is really powerful. I read: "the 3510 powers on to totals of 166W, 318W, 546W and 762W. This 27.6A maximum current delivery (<1% THD/10msec) is very impressive for a 'mere' 100-watter."

But..... in some reviews i read that Exposure amps really sound great, really musical, rich presentation, convincing and real, etcetera but... "However, this rich presentation hinders the Exposure's ability to uncover detail it doesn't burrow as deep in its search for information as the best amps in its class."
and also: "not the most vast and expansive sounding soundstage".

For me these are kind of a alarm bells. But is this justified? Or am i to keen on negative remarks in reviews.

I love to hear your experiences and thoughts on the Exposure 3510.


Thanks, Erik
 
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Thanks Jan-Kees. Off course i also go and listen. Not to be rude, but finding an Exposure dealer is not the problem. But I would also like to read the replies of forum members who know, own or have owned Exposure amplifiers.
 
Well, I'm not him, I was just pointing you to your local dealer.
I've got a pre and mono power amps but not an integrated.
 
I had the 3010s2d integrated. The review comments above do ring true. More a ‘big picture’ amplifier than one that majors on detail I’d say. Wasn’t a problem for me, it’s a lovely amp.
 
erikv2 said:
The most important thing while listening to music for me is soundstage width and preferable also some depth.
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I've owned several Exposure amps, both older Farlowe design and later editions.
Can't fault them, they are bloody nice amplifiers without a silly price tag.

The closest to 3510 I've had were 3010 in not the first edition.
My favorite integrated Exposure amps have been the Farlowe XV/XX from 90'ies.
They still are, but if you find specs/watts important a 3010/3510 might be your entry, as they are powerfull.

My other favorite integrated amps are Rega Aethos and Naim Supernait 2.
These won over the 3010 and were more comparable with pre/power separates.

Soundstage is nice but I value timing and involvement, tonality and so on before soundstage, you should definitely listen first.
Those ES12 are very nice, the best Epos I had and the only mistake was selling them again :( back then.
 
CTank said:
I had the 3010s2d integrated. The review comments above do ring true. More a ‘big picture’ amplifier than one that majors on detail I’d say. Wasn’t a problem for me, it’s a lovely amp.
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@CTank, thanks for sharing. And how about the soundstage? To put it black and white: is it really big, wide, deep and airy? Or not that special at all?

@pfbaat Thanks for your answer. It is not that i really want a powerful amp. But i read in a few articles that the ES12 sound great. But that they are really going to sing when you drive them with a powerful amp. I own a Sugden A28II and a Musical Fidelity A1 and it sounds good. But i am really interested what happens if i drive it with a real powerful amp. I read it would benefit the soundstage and airyness of the sound.
 
erikv2 said:
@CTank, thanks for sharing. And how about the soundstage? To put it black and white: is it really big, wide, deep and airy? Or not that special at all?

@pfbaat Thanks for your answer. It is not that i really want a powerful amp. But i read in a few articles that the ES12 sound great. But that they are really going to sing when you drive them with a powerful amp. I own a Sugden A28II and a Musical Fidelity A1 and it sounds good. But i am really interested what happens if i drive it with a real powerful amp. I read it would benefit the soundstage and airyness of the sound.
Click to expand...
If soundstage is the be all and end all for you, there may be better options. But as ever room and amp/speaker combination will probably be the deciding factor.
 
CTank said:
If soundstage is the be all and end all for you, there may be better options. But as ever room and amp/speaker combination will probably be the deciding factor.
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Well soundstage all and all.... I don't know. It is also where you compare it with. The Sugden A28II is giving quite a nice soundstage. So i would love to at least get the same, and preferable a llittle better soundstage.
 
Have a look at Musical Fidelity M5si or M6si.

They are much more modern approaches to an integrated amp, run in Mode A the first few watts , and have both a very good Dac and Phono built in as standard.

They do that soundstage thing, and also are veeery powerful with loads of details, but naturally also a bit „lighter“ (more controlled) sounding than Exposure. both sound excellent with Epos, as does Creek by the way.

Exposure has never been about all that, they are more about groove & soul but swallow a lot of detail in doing so.

I‘ve tried a lot of both worlds, each has it‘s virtues, but I prefer older Exposure. Epos speakers are my steady point, they are simply awesome, especially given their price.

I have a bit of gear for sale right now and am based in Germany. Should you be interested drop me a mail.

Tobi
 
Okay, thanks all. So if i summarize.

Exposure is, besides power, more about dynamic, rhytm, beat, groove & soul.
And if you want a wide and deep 3D soundstage, you might better looking for Cyrus, Naim, Sugden or ........ any adivice here?
 
erikv2 said:
Okay, thanks all. So if i summarize.

Exposure is, besides power, more about dynamic, rhytm, beat, groove & soul.
And if you want a wide and deep 3D soundstage, you might better looking for Cyrus, Naim, Sugden or ........ any adivice here?
Click to expand...

Book a flight to Bristol airport and come to the show this weekend!
 
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