Thrown an exposure curveball

Posted by: eazyryder on 01 May 2016

Decided to audition the NAIT XS2 yesterday at my dealers, I thought it may be a worthy upgrade from my old Nait 5i-2 and also while there (just out of interest) I had a listen to the new NAIT 5si.

Took along my AE REFERENCE 1s and CHORD HUGO.

First off was the NAIT 5si which IMO didn't improve much if any on the sound I was used to hearing from my old NAIT 5i-2.

I then switched to the NAIT XS2 which immediately caught my attention, it had a much harder hitting tighter bass and a lot more space between instruments, vocals too where much cleaner. All in all a more assured sound than my 5i-2, and after just under an hour of auditioning I was keen on the purchase - until my dealer decided to confuse things by plugging in a EXPOSURE 3010S2D.

A wide open soundstage and extremely detailed sound image with what seemed an unlimited energy was my first impression, and after listening to a couple of tracks it was beginning to win me over, until I decided to up tempo and throw some heavy rock and metal at it. At that point I was switching back and forward between the XS and EXPOSURE.

Eventually I decided that the NAIM XS was going to be my purchase. The EXPOSURE had a big bold and detailed sound with some NAIM trait similarities - but it didn't have that musicality or excitement I was getting from the XS, and when given some fast driving rock it was far too polite.

Posted on: 01 May 2016 by varyat

Naim + fast driving rock = hard to beat.

Enjoy your new amp!

ATB,

Mark

Posted on: 02 May 2016 by wenger2015

varyat posted:
Naim + fast driving rock = hard to beat.
Enjoy your new amp!
ATB,
Mark

Posted on: 02 May 2016 by Ravenswood10

I had Exposure for years going for the 6/7/8 combo over Naim in the late 1980s. I then moved to 17/18s and finally 21/16 monos (real beasts which used to trip the circuit breakers on power up!) before selling them a few years back and immersing myself in Naim where I've been ever since. Both have their attributes and Exposure service back-up was good as I recall.

Posted on: 02 May 2016 by Massimo Bertola

eazyryder posted:
until my dealer decided to confuse things by plugging in a EXPOSURE 3010S2D.

Hi,

a few days ago I happened to listen to the same amp at my dealer, with a rega Saturn-R and Harbeth M30.1s. I must say that I was impressed (perhaps a little too much..): I had never heard the Harbeths sound so rich, extended, with deep and good bass and a crisp treble. Focus was very good, voice was creamy and sharp.

Perhaps someone would call it 'HiFi' not music, but I was rather struck.