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Recent years have seen British hi-fi company Exposure downsize the dimensions of its electronics with the introduction of its half-width XM series in 2016. Following its considerable success in squeezing its extensive hi-fi know-how into smaller dimensions, the audio component specialist has turned its attention to the top of its lineup and replaced its highly regarded but bulky MCX series pre and power amplifiers with slimline units.

The new 5010 series features two products: a preamplifier priced at £2,000 and a mono power amplifier priced at £4,550 per pair and rated at 200W into 8ohm and 370W into 4.
At first glance they don't look all that different to the brand’s existing 3010 and 2010 series of audio components, but the new 5010 models are significantly trimmer measuring just 90mm and 115mm tall respectively, and each is a mere 440mm wide and 300mm deep. The front panels sport Exposure’s trademark clean, simple look with nothing more than an on/off button on the power amplifier, while the preamp is equally pared-back with just a power switch, a single input source selector and the volume control on display.

Exposure tells us that it has paid particular attention to the circuit design in order to achieve the best possible sound quality in the revamped 5010 series. The mono power amplifier is capable of delivering a mighty punch and claims double the power of its 3010 series equivalent. The company says it features an 800W transformer with dual rectification and two 10,000µF screw terminal capacitors, along with eight power transistors per channel. A specially designed slow start circuit reduces the considerable power-on surge. Cascode circuits are used for the input and second amplifier stages for improved linearity, and are fed from active smoothing circuits. The input is relay switched between balanced or single-ended to ensure the shortest possible signal path. 

The 5010 preamplifier sports six line inputs, also switched by high-quality relays. One of the inputs can be configured as either a moving-magnet or moving-coil phono stage for an extra £265, and there's an optional DAC via a £370 plug-in board fitted with USB and BNC digital inputs – with auto-switching between them – that is capable of handling music files up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM as well as DSD64. On sale now, the 5010 series is available in black or titanium finishes and you can find out more by clicking here.