ProAc Studio 115/Exposure 2010 S2 - Audition

milestoneseeker

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Folks,

I have been looking to add a stereo set-up to my current AVR one and was exploring stereo amps for some time. I did start off by researching and then auditioning on PM7004 but then decided to look further with anticipated speaker upgrades in near future.

With that in mind, I "read" through a whole lot on MFs, Arcam, Exposures etc. However, the way things are here in India, the ability to demo all of these brands while being restricted to Bangalore was not possible. Since I will never ever do a blind purchase, I decided to explore Exposures.

As I mention of a future speaker upgrade, I coordinated an audition of ProAcs with Exposure at Absolute Phase.

I would like to thank Prithvi (Absolute Phase) and Abhishek (Audio Dynamics) for their flexibility in getting it together for me.

Even though I am looking for ProAc's Studio 140 MKII, since Prithvi only had the stand mounts (Studio 115), I decided to pair Exposure 2010 s2 with these BS. I had never heard ProAcs before so wanted to get an understanding of their sound signature. I had the Exposure 2010 s2 CDP to act as the source for my CDs.

The 115s are fair sized BS (not diminutive in any sense) and they look very good with their grills off :) I started my audition with a CD of Mozart where I played pieces including Symphony no. 40 in G minor. I had heard of the Exposure + ProAc combo being very musical and I was not disappointed! They had a relatively wide soundstage, good imaging and had great timbre. I heard a quick Vivaldi piece too and the violin sounded rich. The 115s are not laid back speakers (say, relative to Harbeths) and I loved the music they reproduced.

I then moved onto Dire Straits' Sultans of Swings to check for how tight a bass these BS can produce. I will be honest ... they would match or better quite a few FS that I have heard during my previous system set-up quest. The drums were puchier, sounded attacking and went great with the guitars. I almost wanted to chuck my FS idea of 140s and just go for these. I am not a bass fan-boy and 115s sounded just right.

Anyway, I then moved on to some Kailash Kher's singles and needless to say, the vocals and rusticness of his songs shone through. I find my Monitor 9s to do great for his voice and 115s sounded better. I also went through some gazals from Bhupinder and I was blown away!! It sounded miles ahead of my set-up :( Jagjit Singh's baritone was brilliant, as always.

Then it was time to check some classic rock so I put in a CD from R.E.M. They were a very musical band (lately disbanded) and I love the overall feel of their songs. "Everybody Hurts" was superlative on 115s. So was "You are gonna be a star". Checked out some very old and scratched CDs of Pink Floyd to check how well the 2010 s2 CDP performs on the reading those. The CDP was upto the task and none of my old CDs showed any jitter while playing.

Topped off my session with A Thousand Suns from Linkin Park. I love this CD.

Net-net, I truly like the ProAc/Exposure combo and it is worth a listen to anyone looking for new components.

Prithvi also played the entry level Harbeth's for me. I have heard so much of this brand and had wanted to listen to it for quite some time. However, as I listened to these, I realized they are not to my taste. Prithvi mentioned that they are very natural sounding and to me, they sounded slightly laid back. I would say, they rise up to the British sound reputation that one also hears in Wharfedales. ProAcs, though British, sound much more forward sounding (not bright).

I wanted to listen to Rehtm Trishna that he had but we ran out of time :(

So now it is time for me to do some thinking and decision making ... but I loved the way this weekend started! Now I just need to make my wife admit that what she heard today was better than what we have at home :)

cheers
 
Well done!

I see that you managed to get the demo of that combination. Thanks for sharing the results. I have been wanting to hear a ProAC with my Exposure 3010 S2, but achieving that in Delhi is still a distant possibility.

Try Focal JM Lab too if you can... very natural sound. I have some Chorus 706 In-ceilings as surrounds. There is not much bass in the ICs, but I get amazed by the quality of its treble, midrange & upper mid-bass.

On the basis of my communication directly with Exposure, UK, if you decide on Exposure, then you could also demo it with PMC, Spendor, Linn Majik apart from ProAcs.
 
PMC, Spendor ... both of them will be pretty much beyond my budget so am not sure I want to spoil my ears with those :) And more likely than not, they may need 3010 S2 ... you can see where all this is going then!

I saw Linnn Majiks at AP and I may check them out. But from what I have heard/read, they are "meant" to be paired with their own electronics for best result. And to top it, Linns are majorly over-priced here in India.
 
If you're liking what you hear so far, yet do not wish to delve into other territories that may spoil you &/or upset your planned budget, then what are you waiting for ? Buy it and close the chapter !! :)
 
Nice review......

If you do not mind, can you share the MRPs for the ProAc 115, Exposure 2010 Amplifier and CD player.

Thanks,
APK
 
@ miles

I have a pair of 140s which I picked up from AP. you're welcome to come over and check them out.
I suspect that the size of your listening room will determine which model you should go for. the 140s may be overkill in a smaller room.
 
Nice review......

If you do not mind, can you share the MRPs for the ProAc 115, Exposure 2010 Amplifier and CD player.

Thanks,
APK

Sure. I am quoting MSRPs here. The Exposure 2010 s2 amp and CDP cost 89.9k each. The 115s cost, I think, 1.3L sorts. However, I may not have the exact price on 115s to be honest.
 
Exposure is not bright. It is very dry. Meaning, it will present the original recording as it is. People call Dali bright. If that was the case I would find it very tiring to hear my system. But what I have noticed is that the Linn records and hd tracks files and some good quality CDs sound very refined and neutral, whereas poorly mastered ones sound aggressive or muddy depending on the respective flaws in them.



Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
 
Good write up!

Exposure makes some nice amp. ProAcs are pretty neutral. IMO, the slightly forward attribute that you noticed was the signature of the amp.

Thanks for the insight. Since all of the components were new to me, I can only relate to overall sonics of the set-up. Another FM did speak of the same for Exposure amps as what you mentioned.
 
Exposure is a super brand - some of their execution is quite crude but they attain the results as intended.

ProAc, once needs no mention. A stalwart British brand and though ProAcs ideally work wonders with high wattage push-pull tubes, they also work very well with carefully selected solidstate gear.
 
anybody tried proacs with musical fidelity - one of the A series like a3.2 or a5 etc?

or with a tube/ss hybrid like jolida?

appreciate the feedback.
 
Exposure is a super brand - some of their execution is quite crude but they attain the results as intended.

ProAc, once needs no mention. A stalwart British brand and though ProAcs ideally work wonders with high wattage push-pull tubes, they also work very well with carefully selected solidstate gear.

2chfreak, could you please elaborate on that?
 
I have seen one 'higher' end Exposure amp at Aashish's in Gurgaon.
It is 'flat', 'plain' and unassuming to look at .... but, fantastic HQ output.
 
Atish... my amp was very new then... you should come by now. The improvement in the timber of sound is remarkable after these 7 months of daily usage....


Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
 
anybody tried proacs with musical fidelity - one of the A series like a3.2 or a5 etc?

or with a tube/ss hybrid like jolida?

appreciate the feedback.


I've paired my studio 140s with a pathos classic one hybrid amp. definitely a step up from the ss amp I was using before.
 
Pathos and Proac is a great combination. I used to run the Pathos Inpol 2 with Proac Response D Two and it was excellent!

Proac is a very nice sweet sounding speaker which has still a bit of treble issues. But of all the regular bookshelf speakers I had, proac would be the top pick.

I would say any Valve amp or valve pre-amp would give a better matching.
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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