milestoneseeker
Active Member
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
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
