Not the original Elicit. The Elicit Mk2. The Elicit-R is the Mk3.
Naim vs Exposure Amplifiers
- Thread starter Robby
- Start date
Not the original Elicit. The Elicit Mk2. The Elicit-R is the Mk3.
Audiman
pfm Member
I could not agree with RossB more. My first Exposure was a X bought from Radfords in Windsor in about 1988. It was magnificent. Musicality, warmth and a sound stage!
I am still a fan with 3010 amp and CD, I go to shows wanting to be impressed at a fairly reasonable price and am usually disappointed.
I am still a fan with 3010 amp and CD, I go to shows wanting to be impressed at a fairly reasonable price and am usually disappointed.
Lee T
pfm Member
Only my subjective view but having had both a Nait 3, Nait 5i & Exposure 2010 amp here at the same time, I can say they all sound quite different, the exposure was lighter, brighter & thinner sounding to my ears, both Naim amps had a warmer, gutsier sound.
the Exposure was nice though, just a little undernourished I felt by comparison.
the Exposure was nice though, just a little undernourished I felt by comparison.
Marky-Mark
pfm Member
That might have been me, unless someone else with a DR4 and 3010s2 preamp posted something. My take is that the older Exposure amps are a bit darker than the post-Farlowe gear with more emphasis on low-end up to the middle of the mid-range, especially at lower volumes. Once you give the DR4 some juice the frequencies bloom into a more balanced presentation. I talked with Tony at Exposure, and he feels that the Farlowe era amps pair a little better with the Farlowe era preamps as they were voiced in tandem at that time.
The 3010s2 preamp, I'm told, and would agree, is quite neutral and well balanced -- nothing much stands out except solid, clean and quiet performance -- whereas the older Farlowe preamps were a little brighter and so perhaps mated better with the slightly darker Exposure amps of that era. Still, a lot is absolutely owed to the rest of the system, primarily speakers. I paired my setup initially with Epos Elan and later PMC. The PMC get along much better with the Exposure to my ears. They have a slight presence dip in the midrange that balances out the occasionally low and mid-heavy emphasis of the Farlowe Exposure, depending on the source, of course. And they're very fast little speakers (the Twenty series) but with a lower efficiency that eats up the current from the DR4 with no issues.
Marky-Mark
pfm Member
I should probably add that I run the 2010s2 integrated in a second system - also with PMC (DB1s+) - and the overall balance of sound is a little richer at lower usable volumes than with the DR4/3010s2 combination. There's really no emphasis on any one frequency range with the 2010s2. Of course, this integrated is of a passive preamp design, so that has something to do with it. Where the DR4 pulls ahead is in what most people term as 'slam' and overall clarity as the volume goes up -- mostly with transients --those quick bursts of dynamic musical passages.
Strictly Stereo
Trade: Strictly Stereo
You can. You will need a power supply for your NAC 72 and a 4-pin DIN to 2 RCA cable. I have no idea how good (or not) they will sound together.
Strictly Stereo
Trade: Strictly Stereo
In that case, all you need is a source and some music. I would be interested to know how this combination sounds. I have tried a few different combinations of current or recent Naim and Exposure components, but never any of the older models.
yeah I ran the 17 and 18 mono for awhile. Sadly it was not re-capped and I think they really need to be. The Dual 4 reg is recapped and so much more grip, slam/bass control and a much bigger sound stage. I really don't ever think I heard the 18 mono as they are capable of performing. My mistake as they are long gone now.
Cereal Killer
432
So how's the demos coming on Robby?
pjdowns
Living the Hifi dream
Interesting. When I spoke to Tony at Exposure, he said that my 18 wouldn't need to be recapped unless it had a loss of bass.
My 17/18 combo are 1994 models.
Not even started down that route yet.
First of all I go on holiday in 3 weeks and the wife has convinced me we need to spend some time planning that - it's a 3 week trip to Canada which will be half road trip/half time with family.
Also, I am pretty much convinced that this is the wrong time of year to be box swapping to be honest. There are some good deals to be had out there but these are only attractive if you can move what you have on for a price that sits comfortably. And at the moment I am not sure this is possible.
The classifieds are full of superb equipment such as Luxman, Mastersound and Leben at crazy prices to name but three. Prices that would have had them sold in a heartbeat not long ago. Summer is clearly not the time for big changes to one's system it would seem.
The other things are, as the SM100's settle in they are sounding better and better (is this possible? to my ears it is) and I have a sneaking suspicion that the Aries Mini I have is letting the side down. The same piece of music on my Rega P3 brings the weight and heft that was looking for in an amp so the weak leak in the system may not be the Croft's after all.
So I think, at this stage, I might look into how I can enhance the performance of the Mini. There are a two options - the better power supply and/or a better dac. There seem to be a lot of good dacs out there albeit many have features I don't want or need (built in pre-amps/headphone amps etc).
Once this is sorted I will move onto trying some of the Elsdon Wonfor cables that seem to be getting some great write ups on here not least from yourself.
Shane2468
pfm Member
Bit of old Exposure history here albeit with new caps (the transformer is original):
My eyes!!
S.
mynaimismike
Active Member
I am using an Exposure 2010S2D with naim SBLs and Naca5 after going up and down the Naim chain a couple of times and I must say I like it better than all Naim integrated amps.
Warmer and softer sound with better bass for less cost.
Warmer and softer sound with better bass for less cost.
Thanks for the update. Interesting that you find the Exposure 2010S2-D to sound better than the Naim Supernait 2. May I ask what speakers are you using with both 2010S2-D and SN2?
Sometimes "warmer" or "softer" can be interpreted differently since it is difficult to accurately describe the real differences that we hear with our ears. Personally I find the Naim in my case 202/200 and 282/250 to have a warm tone (instead of bright as mentioned by many here) when matched with my Harbeth SHL5 Plus speakers. However, it's the transient attack with relatively short attack and decay times (as in the ASDR envelope) which may have contributed to the hardness in sound that some people often associate with bright or fatiguing. In this sense, I can relate to comments about the Naim sounding brighter than most softer sounding amps although in reality it's not actually the brightness but hardness contributed by the pace and attack in the delivery of music.
Marky-Mark
pfm Member
I corresponded with him before selling my DR4, and he said the same thing. He also said, and I quote (when asked about the amp's somewhat dark and veiled character), "They just sound that way."
Great sounding amp when the volume is middling to middling-high. Not so much at casual listening levels. I told the guy I sold it to "be sure to turn it up!" He's apparently very happy.
Marky-Mark
pfm Member
Part of my upgrade churn path was Nad, Rega, Nait, Exposure. Each was better than the previous, with the exception of the Rega-Naim experience. Subjectively, if I were to have chosen between the Rega Brio-R and the Nait (the one without the front panel input), I'd have kept the Rega. Once I installed the Exposure 2010s2 I forgot about them both. Speakers were PMC DB1s+ on the desktop with a sub underneath.