The lovely, but huge, MCX series still has a lot of fans. However, its size was inconvenient for some, and the “bigger is better” mantra no longer applies as our living spaces are becoming more compact, especially in the city.

Exposure proved that it was able to pack high-performance tech aplenty into small cases with the introduction of its half-width sized XM series of hi-fi components.

Exposure then turned its attention to revisiting its top end offerings with the aim of creating its finest combination of amplifiers yet, at a fraction of the physical size.

Quietly confident

The result is the brand new 5010 series which features two products: a preamplifier and a pair of mono power amplifiers. At first glance, you might be hard pushed to tell them apart from the brand’s existing 3010 and 2010 series.

Significantly trimmer than their MCX predecessors and sporting Exposure’s trademark clean styling, you’ll see nothing more than a power button on the power amp, while the preamp is equally pared-back with just a power switch, a single input selector knob and the volume control.

You won’t find endless rows of flashy buttons or ‘look-at-me’ LED displays here. Instead, Exposures makes clear its intention to focus on the more critical business of delivering high-performance amplification with a deft balance of energy and elegance, power and finesse.

Packing a punch

On the subject of power, the mono power amplifier features an 800W transformer with dual rectification and two 10000uF screw terminal capacitors, along with eight power transistors per channel. A specially designed slow start circuit reduces the power-on surge, which would otherwise be considerable with the size of the transformer.

Exposure's new 5010 series utilises cascode circuits for the input and second amplifier stages which it says “provides improved linearity and power supply rejection.” These are fed from active rail smoothing circuits.  High-quality Welwyn RC55 resistors and polypropylene and polystyrene capacitors are used in critical positions.  

The preamplifier packs six line inputs, switched by high-quality relays. One of the inputs can be configured as either an MM or MC phono option with the addition of an extra PCB, or as a DAC option with the addition of a plug-in board. The latter is capable of up to 192/24 bit PCM and DSD 64 and comes with two inputs: USB and BNC, with auto-switching between them.

The preamplifier has balanced outputs and is DC coupled using servos at the output, and only one capacitor at the input. Its power supply features a 200W transformer, fast rectifiers and 24 high-quality smoothing capacitors.

Expected to be available in Australia around October/November 2018, the Exposure 5010 series preamplifier ($3,999 RRP) and mono power amplifiers ($8,999 RRP pair) come in a choice of black or titanium finish. Options include the DAC ($699 RRP), MC or MM phono ($499 RRP).

For more information visit Exposure.

The article New Exposure Flagship 5010 Pre and Power Amplifiers first appeared on StereoNET UK.