Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Exposure 15 Integrated Amplifier (SS) by don

I've owned two different Exposure XV integrated amplifiers, having purchased the first in 1984. Phono playback with the integrated is its strong point. It has a powerful exciting presentation and always serves the music - natural and involving.
Comparisons were made at the original purchase time with Naim, Creek and Arcam units - the Naim was close but the Exposure sounded better at the frequency extremes and was more powerful sounding. Being a small integrated it was easy to carry it around to shops and I was able to try it on several speakers including the Wilson Witts. In a direct comparison with Jeff Rowland seperates costing 10 times as much the XV sounded better, to my ears, at reasonable levels (granted the phono section of the Wilson/Rowland setup was a mass marketed $200 unit). Though it could not drive the Eminent Technology 2s (82 db) it was able to make music with the PSB Stratus Golds (87 db) within reasonable limits. The 35 watts available were enough to drive Epos ES14, Vandersteen 2C, Polk Monitor 10B, Spica TC60 and Spendor SP100s to loud levels, great for loud rock or at realistic levels for Folk and Blues .
I also compared this unit to much more powerful and expensive electronic made by Adcom and Parasound - though the Exposure could not reach the same volume levels, it could play loud and sounded much more natural and musical at any reasonable level. The double the price Adcom and Parasound gear sounds pure midfi in comparison.
I have recently upgraded to the Exposure 4 and 21 combination, costing almost 4 times as much - a much more refined and powerful sound but only a tad bit more musical satisfaction. Any improvement over the 15 has to come at a great cost - its that good. Recommended mainly for those desiring entry level high end especially with a phono section. The more recent Exposure units have higher power ratings - but 35 watts was really never an issue with speakers with 88db efficiency or higher even in large rooms. Some may not like the banana type speaker connectors, I thought they simplified setup.

REVIEW: Exposure 15 Integrated Amplifier (SS) Review by don_t at Audio Asylum