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Exposure / Epos ES14 amplification upgrade advice wanted

I can vouch for how good the XVIII mono's are - I've been using them for a fair while now (with a XXI RC pre) and love them. I went from a XIV/IX/IVDR to these and don't really feel short-changed. The XIV/IX was, whilst being brilliant in its own right, a little bit of a disappointment - perhaps it was because I'd yearned for this rig for years, and the reality wasn't quite what I was expecting. The phonostage was the bit which concerned me - certainly not really that much, if it all better than a P75 Mk2.

Still, the XVIII's are not short on power and have so much life and zest it would take a lot for me to part with them, seriously fun amps. Saying that, never say never. :D

IMG_4243.jpg
 
I had a 4DR2 for a number of years. Also 18 Super regulated monos ,which Ive still got.
The 4DR2 was a very late one indeed. Its sound was subjectively slower and warmer ( more spacious ?) than the 18 monos, which were the more popular amps. The 18 monos sounded faster, tighter, punchier. Quite a bit more get up and go. This was surprising as the 4DR2 is 90 Watts into 8 ohms. Power isnt the whole story of course. So I sold the 4DR2 on ( after about 5 years though). The 18 monos have something a bit in common with Naim Nap 250/135 power amps. Well, kind of.
When the product line was rationalised about 2000 they stopped doing the 4DR2 but kept the 18 super monos.
Some would the prefer the 4DR2 though. All depends really.

Cheers,
Mark.
PS You cannot use Naim power amps with Exposure pre's ( 17/19/21 certainly).
Grounding is not compatible.
 
I'd echo what Mark said re the IVDR and the XVIII mono's - I prefer the slightly starker (more forthright?) presentation of the XVII's personally although can see where others may go for the IVDR.

For me, there's a lot of the old X integrated in the XVIII's - their lack of inertia is what made me love my first X all those years ago but the mono's have more power, obviously, and they're a lot less ragged, and they don't go BANG through the speakers when you switch them on :D
 
Wow, thanks guys, the insight to the presentation difference between the IVDR and XVIII monos is very helpful indeed!

Depending on what I do with the CD source, it will guide me on the power amp. :D
 
What's the difference with XVI and XVIII Super monos then? Would be great to try either one of those in some point even though I'm quite happy with my XXIII/XXVIII at the moment. Anyone tried XXIII pre with the older XVI or XVIII powers?
 
dzeikei said:
What's the difference with XVI and XVIII Super monos then? Would be great to try either one of those in some point even though I'm quite happy with my XXIII/XXVIII at the moment. Anyone tried XXIII pre with the older XVI or XVIII powers?
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I used the 23 pre with my 16 Monos for a while, in preference to the 14/9 pre. Worked very well, more upfront, direct presentation.

Haven't directly compared the 18 Monos with the 16s: would like to try that one day...
 
Theo, what about the difference between 23 and MCX pre? I might have a change to snap one up secondhand but I'm thinking is it worth it? Of course I would listen to it in my system first with MCX cd and 28 :).
 
Apologies to the OP as this is a bit off topic...

The MCX pre is simply far more revealing of what is going on than the 23. The soundstage is more defined, music just makes more sense. Apologies for the vague description; you do need to hear one. However, the 23/28 is a very well balanced combination, and I haven't heard the MCX with a 28. YMMV etc.
 
Thanks Theo, I need to try it myself. Also would like to try the new 3010S2 monos one day. Sounded quite promising in the local shop with 23. Miles ahead the 3010S2 pre.

In the past I had two 28's with 23 but that didn't bring too much improvements with the speakers I was using the system with. Sorry for the slight thread hijack :).
 
I use an Avondale 260Z - like a Naim 250 but the Avondale version - with my ES14s and it sounds amazing but they are very room dependent. I found moving mine to the sweet spot made a big difference and it took a few hours of positioning and repositioning them.

Charlie
 
I have ES14s (the walnut version, which sounds best obviously)

mention of your micromega reminds me of a bake off me and Brickie had a while back. We had my CD3.5, Nick's Moon and Micromega. The micromega came a distant third as I recall.

Until v recently (ie last week) I had a 62/250 hooked up to ES14s and an Exposure VI / VII / VIII with ES11s in second system. The Expo was a bit warmer, but the Naim was faster, tighter and ultimately more enjoyable.
 
per flemming said:
Me too:)

The original Exposure CD-player is good and will tighten up your bass issue, so would a Naim CDS but then we are talking $$.

Lots of other alternatives out there (Rega Saturn amo), investigate source first is my advice, your amp/speaker is allready Vgood
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UPDATE:D

Wow, what can I say, I took delivery of mint S/H John Farlow era original Exposure "CD player" today following forum advice. I'm listening to it as we speak making it hard to type as I keep getting distracted by the music (awesomeness)! Its like listening to a new CD collection again!

Just thought I'd leave a little feedback, I'm just so impressed by the difference in presentation of the CD Player to my old micromega. I have just discovered PRAT (micromega didnt have it), enhanced dynamics, and bass control / extension is much better and is now what it should be! So power amp upgrade suspended.

I'm intending to have a good listen but think this set-up is worthy of a better CD-pre interconnect to squeeze even more out, any recommendations for an all exposure combo?

Thanks very much to all in this thread who offered advice and pointed me in the right direction.
 
Glad you like the Expo CDP. Ergonomically flawed, but plays music very well.

If you hear a "click" between each track, that's the muting relay. Drove me nuts, but it's easily disabled.

The Expo CDP has electrolytic capacitors at the output, supposedly "carefully chosen", perhaps to soften the sound a bit.

Unfortunately they also add a slight haze. I have replaced them with a pair of Evox-Rifa 4.7 uF polycaps, which are large enough to span the gap between the PCB and the output jacks, thus also eliminating the wired connection.
 
RustyB said:
Glad you like the Expo CDP. Ergonomically flawed, but plays music very well.

If you hear a "click" between each track, that's the muting relay. Drove me nuts, but it's easily disabled.

The Expo CDP has electrolytic capacitors at the output, supposedly "carefully chosen", perhaps to soften the sound a bit.

Unfortunately they also add a slight haze. I have replaced them with a pair of Evox-Rifa 4.7 uF polycaps, which are large enough to span the gap between the PCB and the output jacks, thus also eliminating the wired connection.
Click to expand...

Have taken a look inside when it first arrived, plenty of room for tweaks, I'll consider the capacitor replacement once I have evaluated the sound of the CD player more.

I notice I can listen at lower volumes with the Exposure due to its increased drive / slam. Its definitely got more treble and bass than the micromega but less air to the midband, might that be related to the haze you mentioned?
 
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