Got my new amp today

After the recent passing-away of my old Exposure X (it worked but spat its dummy if you switched it off, losing one channel for a couple of hours on re-starting) and the short-term dabble with an old A21 I've just today picked up my shiny new amp - an Exposure 3010.

Things are looking good so far - good old Exposure-type drive and speed but with a slightly warmer tone quality. And Jeez...has this thing got some grunt or what???

The Sugden?? It sounded sweet and oh-so-transparent but was, to be honest, boring and slow.

Huge thanks to the guys at Exposure down in Brighton too - they couldn't have been more helpful. Top geezers.

 

Sugden not to your taste at all?
Thought you were enjoying it.
I fancy trying one one day, doubt it'll kick the Dyns well tho.

 

Yup - the '21 was nice in small doses. Sort of a 'late night' amp. Only problem is that it made music sound disjounted, as though the musicians weren't quite giving a fully-polished performance. The Exposure, although tonally perhaps a tad harsh (though not as much as their older kit) just hangs together better - as though the band (whoever that may be) as had some rehearsal. Music, of all tempii, regains its momentum.

Should be even better once it's burned-in.

 

Pity you didn't try the current A21a - has all the delicacy of the old A21 plus grunt.
Cheers

 

Well Done Gromit, I think the new Exposure kit represents fabulous value and cannot be beaten at the price if you like it fast and funky

 

exposure certainly had one of the better sounding rooms at bristol.
cheers


julian

 

Yes Gromit the 3010 is an exellent amp my brother has one. Did you pay full retail or did you get a discount, my brother couldn't get a discount apart from a qed cable.

GAZZ

 

Gazz - didn't get a discount as such, just a really good trade-in from Exposure on my poorly old Ten - they can't fix them anymore apparently

Had the afternoon off work so have been comparing the 3010 with my resident (and still rather lovely 1970 model) old Sugden A21. I've ended up with a real problem on my hands - the 3010 has masses of headroom (100w/ch is very handy - especially when we've no neighbours at the moment ) but compared to my old Ten is somewhat lacking in emotion. Perhaps it's much more revealing of my source? Hard to say.

The Sugden, on simpler music - Mary Black is spinning at the moment - it draws the listener in giving a feeling of the singer moving air; breathing and singing into a microphone to deliver a tune. The 3010 seems a tad artificial and processed by comparison. I know that the old Exp X could move almost to tears, such was its ability to deliver a good tune - it would appear that the new breed has developed a different sound, not all of it good I'd have to admit. Still, the amp's still only just over 24hrs old and seems to be loosening up somewhat - it's been left playing non-stop throughout that time. It's quite a fast amp and very 'leading edge' in the old Naim/Exposure vein - it's just that it don't get down and boogie quite the same.

It does gall slightly when the 3010's received, if not rave reviews, some extremely positive prose from HiFi Choice for example*. As it stands the old Ten, despite its weaker oomph, chews it up and spits it out when it comes to making the speakers sing.

I'll give it a couple of weeks, see if it grows on me. However, although the ear is very good at adapting to tonal differences over time, first impressions are usually bang-on when talking musical values.

*I'm not normally one for mag reviews but it's quite satisfying when reading that someone likes one's own choice of hardware.

 

good description,I have Barb Jungr spinning as I type as thats exactly what is happening

I have had someone around to listen to my gear,and she swore the cd player was broken because she could hear crackling on a track she knows very well,it was actually quiet symbols she had never heard before,she was then speechless as she rediscovered her favourite piece of music

 

Does the 3010 retail at £999, sport a smooth metal facia and orange led's? I listened to such an amp yesterday, i guess it was the exposure 3010 integrated biamped with the matching power amp, hooked up to the matching exposure cdp and some Acoustic energy Aelite 7's.The system cost 4k all in.Must say the sound stage was positively HUGE and there was bucket loads of controlled power on offer. The Aelite 7s could play at ground shaking levels without much distortion.However i found the highs abit too bright, even at medium levels.Scale and dynamics are definately their strong points but i wasnt convinced it sounded mch, if any better than my modest set up which cost far less.Not to mention all the kit was hooked up to aftermarket mains gear where as mine is all bog standard.

Ultra

 

Ultra - that sounds like the one, although mine's the silver finish with the blue led's (very funky actually).

The integrated on its own has a shedload of oomph - I've never had my Tablettes running so loud yet so cleanly - and the overall sound is pretty much to my taste. The only thing that really bothers me is that it doesn't draw me in - you don't feel it tugging at the emotion at all. It's fearsomely detailed and dynamically all I could ask for, only vice is its sounding a bit uncommunicative.

I'm maybe thinking the ProAcs don't like it? They're starting to show a certain ProAc presence-region forwardness whereas with the older Ten they didn't.

 

Yeah, they certainly have this almost unburstabel quality about them. I listend to the poorly rated marantz pm17 Ki "m" model and although it lacked the oomph of the exposure, it retained all the detail but gave a smoother and more musical presentation.It wasnt a fair comparison as the marantz was hooked up to some very expensive Ruark speakers which use top notch drive units so i was told. 2 completely different systems,2 completely different sounds. If you're after more insight and a more communicative sound, theres is a cheap and effective way, buy some Atacama statistages, they worked wonders in my system £40 each on www.hifibitz.com


Ultra