Wow they must be some on board phono boards $1250!
Well if one considers Aestheixās least expensive outboard phono the basic Rhea is $6000. And the top phono the Lo Eclipse is $15,000 then $1250. doesnāt seem so bad !
How did you get on with the Exposure 5010?
I have the pre and mono amps on home demo and am impressed so far
Hi bongoman , the control they had over my super 20s was very impressive, bass was much better formed, midband was much more musical and the top was lovely and calm, but the overriding impression was how much more musical/relaxing they sounded. after two weeks I had to return them and I put my naim amps back into the rack and turned them on and they sounded great but such a different presentation, to my ears the naim amps are very much leading edge in there sound which coupled with the super 20s and my room maybe a bit much, so now Iāam trying to decide what to do
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Hey lemans3, thatās a good summary and Iām finding them much more musical and relaxing too compared to my Naim amps. They seem to have a better synergy with my Marten Dukes. I like the simplicity of 3 boxes without power supplies, burndies and cable dressing to think about. Early days yet but sounding promising so far
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which exposure amps are you trying out. the 5010s amazed me with 200 watts I thought it would be to much but showed speakers given lots of power sound much better
Iām trying out the 5010s too. My Marten Dukes are 4 ohm speakers so the mono amps are pushing out 370W into 4 ohms! Theyāre driving them well and thereās lots of detail still at low listening levels.
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I do worry (for Naim) that they have over-complicated things.
Yes they produce really good products in terms of amplification but are they needlessly overly complex ?
Still using Naim sources (and they are 10/10)
Itās good to know that you currently have the Exposure 5010 pre/mono amps with the Marten Duke 2. Interesting switch from the 552/300DR to Exposure. Did you manage to try the Sugden Sapphire and Luxman L-590AXII with the Marten yet?
Jim,
itās not very complex to figure out that one thing is having ā¬1000 to spend on Naim once or twice a year, another to have 50,000 to 100,000 in a single stroke. You must have mistaken me for one of those who muse about whether to add the second 555PS to the ND555 they have on the yachtā¦
M.
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Sounds interesting, Lemans3 and Bongoman, I have been contemplating the 5010 preamp to front up my 300DR, its a pity there are no Exposure Dealers close by so that I could give it a quick try.
Exposure is available in Stockholm again. It is good to see Exposure, EAR, Lejonklou and others providing competition to Linn/Naim in at least somewhat more decent price ranges - a bit of new life for Naim.
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I listened to the Luxman L-509, L590AXII & Norma Revo 140 integrated amps at the dealers at the weekend - all with the Marten Miles 5 (the Duke 2s were out) and NDX2 as source. Of the 3 amps I preferred the Norma, itās a lovely sounding amp, the piano tones in particular sounded very natural. It lacked some low end grunt for me but that may have been due to the listening room. Iām going to arrange a home demo soon.
Iām finding the Duke 2s to be very fussy with system matching to get the best out of them. They are a better match with Exposure amps than my 552/300DR. The Exposure 5010 series is a nice bit of kit. Understated in design but very musical and engaging, and very reasonably priced compared to Naim.
I havenāt had a chance to try out the Sugden Sapphire pre/power yet but hoping to sort something soon.
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I wouldnāt disagree with that! Iāve upgraded the interconnects and for the first time in history the USB cable after the Luxman came into the picture. All these changes brought a noticeable difference / improvement to sound quality. Next up Iāll be trying a Furutech power cord on the Luxman. Itās all cables now at this point.
I would be looking forward to your thoughts with the home demo.
I would suggest hanging on to the Marten Duke 2s. These are really spectacular speakers capable of great things, as you might have found out. Iām glad the Exposure 5010 pre/monos have worked out well for you. It is interesting that such plain looking amps can sound better than the 552/300DR and most importantly combine well with the Marten. I have never given the Exposure a thought based on looks alone.
Thanks @ryder
Iām not completely sold on Exposure as yet as still early days, but they do sound promising. I will listen to other alternatives too before moving on from Naim. Lots to consider.
I would consider too Musical Fidelity NuVista 600; after having the ProAc K6 hooked in biamp mode to Exposure 3010S2 integrated plus power amp, there is no comparision with the Musical Fidelity, a great integrated with valves front end, well above its price range.
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You know what, Iāve been thinking about a MF Nu Vista 800. Pre owned of course. A lot of integrated amp for around Ā£4K.
I still use a 20 year old Nu vista pre and a heavily modified MF A300cr, and any new combo would have to go some to beat that. The Nu vista input selector is playing up when driven by the remote. Not the end of the world , hence why Iām only thinkingā¦I was thinking about a 252/sc/ 300dr setup. Then worked out the pre owned cost.Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£
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I think the new Musical Fidelity Statement range, so the Nuvista 600 and the Nuvista 800, is a win stake in terms of price-quality-SQ. After enjoying Nad, Rotel, Marantz, Exposure and Naim, Musical Fidelity top of the range has been a breath of fresh air, and quite a surpriseā¦, at least with the ProAc K6.
Only thing that worries me with MF is the internal build quality. Things went south after the X and A series in 2002? When manufacture went east. I know that a well known service provider for MF will tell you that. Although he now makes a good living repairing, servicing and modifying their kit.
Iād like to think their top end stuff is better now.
Either way always good vfm.
My A300cr now weighs in at over 40kg after an expensive overhaul/ mod three years ago. Sounds terrific thoughā¦