trebor

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Used

Summary:
This is my second super 20 (I never should have sold the first one) These amps really do make music enjoyable, they have awesome power for their ratings. I remember hearing a pals 35 watt Exposure X (10) many years ago, when I had a 60 watt Audiolab 8000A and his exposure left it for dead I'm not just talking loudness here because they have a really dynamic sound that thrills you at any volume setting. My super 20 is smooth and detailed, it has pace and rhythm with excellent timing. Some componants are criticised for sounding dry in the bass, the Exposure can only be described as wet Im not saying that the bass is loose far from it, its just that it has feel and a pleasantness to it Am I the only Exposure user who actually likes the thump that you get from the speakers when you switch it on? You need to take care when you partner these amps, previously I used one with Mission 753 floorstanders which were really sensitive at 91dB and two problems occured. Firstly, from experience most amps sound best when warm but the super 20 stays freezing cold on sensitive speakers and secondly, on speakers with high sensitivity you may hear a slight hiss (especially on old music) In short, use high quality speakers, these usually are quite insensitive. I am currently using Cyrus CLS70 on there own stands along with a Rel Storm subwoofer very subtley adding the bottom actave and the musicality of the Exposure works well with my speakers transparency. Prior to the cyrus' I was using B&W P4 floorstanders and this was a real rollercoaster ride that I loved but in my smallish listening room there was a tad too much bass and vocals were a bit too warm. My previos amps on the P4's were a used pair of Audio Analogue Bellini pre and Donizetti power amps, these went back to the shop due to an annoying mechanical hum from the power amp. This may sound a bit controvercial but although these newer £1200 pre-power amps were nice they weren't any better than the Super 20 The build quality is very good also. The super 20 weighs 9Kg even though it has a lightweight all aluminium case. That hefty custom toroidal and the 4 big reservoir caps being most of the mass here. The power switch looks a bit Maplin or Tandy (radio shack) but the switches and volume pot are top quality and never get crackly. I have never heard of an Exposure failing but care needs to be taken when connecting up as there is no short-circuit protection on the outputs. All in all - Buy one, you'll be smiling before you get to the end of the first song!

Strengths:
Rhythm, timing, pace, sweetness, detail, power, dynamics, and MUSICALITY.

Weaknesses:
Slight hiss on sensitive speakers. Sounds a little bit too bouncy on budget gear

Similar Products Used:
Audio Analogue Bellini + Donizetti, Audiolab 8000A, Arcam delta`s, Cyrus Two and Cyrus 8, Technics SU900A MK2, Nad pre-power, Exposure X, Denons

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Sevenoaks HiFi

Summary:
I was looking for a new amp to inject a bit of life into my system as my previous amp, a Musical Fidelity E10 was a bit lacking in dynamics for some of my heavier CD's. So after trawling the local dealers I spotted the Exposure going VERY cheaply in Sevenoaks HiFi. At that price I assumed there would be something wrong with it! Turned out that it had been part-exed for an Exposure 2-box amp by a very happy owner, but Sevenoaks had been unable to clear it out. The salesman told me that customers in that price range generally expect a bit more glitz for their money...!

Listening commenced on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a pile of rocking CD's and some familiar lighter stuff. The Exposure impressed straight away with its rock solid rhythms and pace. Sounds seemed more solid and 'real' than before. In contrast I found the Naim a bit 2 dimensional by comparison. The Arcam sounded every bit as good as the Exposure, maybe a little more forward but with less control over the rhythm. Both were better than the Cyrus which just didnt sound in the same class to me. Since the Exposure was $300 with 3 months guarantee and the Arcam was full price (about $1200) my choice was obvious.

The amp has revitalised my music collection and continues to impress every day. I would thoroughly recommend one to anybody.

Strengths:
Phono Stage, Build Quality.

Weaknesses:
That power-on thump. Looks.

Similar Products Used:
Arcam Alpha 10, Naim Nait And Cyrus 7 auditioned at the same time

Summary:
Mine is actually an Exposure 15, before the super versions. Its an early one too from about 1990/1 vintage. Extrememly musical and has reponded to speaker upgrades well - Royd A7 for 10 years and recently to Rogers LS55 floorstanders. Basically I have sat and listened to the music through this amp for 10 years now - what more can I say. It has never had any problems - it only ever gets turned off to move house! If I were to upgrade this in my main system then of course I would look to the exposure pre/power combos. As an aside I recently bought a home cinema amp - yamaha dsp-a2. I couldn't resist the comparision with the exposure in pure stereo. Apart from the superior phone stage of the exposure - the Yamaha meets the exposure in every way, except that indefinable musicality. Yes I can thoroughly recommend Exposure.

Strengths:
very musical and very reliable, lovely phono stage

Weaknesses:
thud on power on and yes, it is a bit noisy

Similar Products Used:
tried Exposure 10 and Naim Nait at the time

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Barcelona

Summary:
My 85 dB Rogers Studio 3 compact monitors did not reveal all its immense potential with the Marantz. It was a good sounding amb but suitable only for easy speakers. I spent two years listening to the equipment rather than the music. Hooking them up to the Exposure Super XV was a revelation! Not only it drives them with overwhelming authority but also makes them shine. The 55 wpc rating is quite conservative. Unlike other amps it sounds great right from turning it on. It is sweet and detailed. I can listen to it for hours without getting listening fatigue at all. Excels with voice, acoustic and jazz (the speakers have something to do with that) but I find it also very good at any other type of music. Sober black fascia has some ugliness but once you turn it on, you just listen to the music. And for vinyl junkies like me it has a splendid m/m phono stage to boot. I compared it with Sugden A21a (runs too hot), Lavardin IS (impressive sound but lacks the nerve to drive my speakers), Anthem 1 Integrated (takes too long to warm up and I do not want to have to worry about tube changing from time to time) and the Audio Analogue Puccini SE (not up to the job). The Super XV was the clear winner. And its solidly built. So I expect to have it with me for many years. Highly recommended if you have difficult speakers. Feature freaks refrain: no balance, tone controls, headphone output, etc. Money is spent on quality i/o gizmos.
One thing that called my attention was the presence of Listen and Record selector which I did not understand at first. Now I've just bought a Creek OBH11SE headphone amp and this feature has turned out quite useful. As the Creek is connected to the tape loop, I just put the Listen to mute and select the source from the Record selector.
This amp is about music. That's what it should always be.

Strengths:
Musicality. Drives power hungry speakers authoritatively.
Sweet sound

Weaknesses:
Pops when turned on and off.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz PM66 KI-S

Summary:
On paper, this amp doesn't have a great deal going for it. The quoted performance puts it firmly in the middle of the pack of mid-priced 50-watters that have saturated the market for years. Aesthetically it's nothing much to write home about either. A close look at the casework and controls might have you concluding that the amp had been made from a kit by a reasonably competent home-builder.

Power it up for the first time and it sounds even more home-made. A potentially tweeter-destroying pop issues from the loudspeakers and the low-level noise from the power amp section would have me reaching for the soldering iron and the instruction manual had I just finished putting it together.

(Not that there aren't some damned good home builders and fine amp kits out there BTW :-))

However, if you take a pair of good speakers, couple this amp to a decent source and sit back and listen, I don't think you could fail to realise a couple of hi-fi home truths almost immediately.

1. Paper specifications and ultra-quiet stages give no indication as to how an amp will sound in anger.
2. What it looks like has got nothing at all to do with anything.

When partnered with the right components, this amp has the capability to sound extremely rich and sweet. The presentation is detailed and revealing and the overall coherence of the soundstage means that this sonic resolution does not become tiring or irritating, even when listening for extended periods.

The channel separation is superb, and the amp will allow a good pair of speakers to present an extremely stable and solid soundstage.

Having lived with the amp for some time, I find it to be satisfying in use with all kinds of music. On the occasions when I have wound the volume control beyond the usual nine o'clock position the amp has maintained absolute control over the music, and I suspect I would cause structural damage before encountering distortion if I were to really push it.

In terms of value, I would give the amp five stars. It is unlikely that you'll find anything better for the price if you want your music rich and sweet. If you prefer something drier then go for the Naim Nait 3 or one of the entry level Copeland integrated units. On the other hand, if you want it sweeter than this you'll have to go for tubes - nothing in transistor-land at this sort of price is as kind on the ear as the Exposure.

The overall rating drops to four because of the criticisms raised at the start of the review. Despite the musicality of the amp, there is no reason why the output stage should be as noisy as it is. In addition, whilst I understand the potential signal degradation caused by placing relays on the output lines to the speakers, there should be some sort of power-on protection given the size of the "bang" when the unit is switched on. Oh, and it's not my own unit which is faulty either. I spent an afternoon at my local hi-fi shop trying about five identical Super XVs and they all had the woofers heading for the opposite wall at power-on.

A rough and ready solution ? Physically disconnect the positive-going side of the speaker cable to each speaker when powering the amp up or down. It would have to be a hell of a thump to get past that !

Strengths:
One of the most musical amplifiers that you'll get for under 1000 UKP

Weaknesses:
Noisy at low volume levels - not much to look at

Similar Products Used:
Quad, Denon, Sony, Pioneer, Sugden, Thule, Technics