Pre/Power Amplifiers

While the 5010 mono blocks look traditional, the circuit design, with cascode input and line gain stages, offers reduced noise and distortion over earlier Exposure amps. Specifically, the A-wtd S/N is a wide 98dB (re. 0dBW) – a great result bearing in mind the proximity of that huge 800VA toroid [see inside picture, Page One of this review] – and distortion very low at just 0.0003%/1W, 0.0006%/10W and 0.003%/100W through bass and midrange frequencies. Distortion increases to 0.003%/10kHz and 0.005%/20kHz but this is marginal [see red trace, Graph 2]. The matching 5010 preamp offers even lower noise and lower distortion, the former enabling a 95dB A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBV) with THD as low as 0.0001% through the midrange and 0.00024% at 20kHz [black trace, Graph 2]. The preamp’s response is slightly more tailored than that of the 5010 monoblocks, however, with a subsonic boost of +0.5Hz from 10Hz down to 1Hz (an issue with the DC servo, I’d suspect) coupled with a gentle HF roll-off of –0.12dB/10kHz, –0.45dB/20kHz and –7.1dB/100kHz. The power amp is flat to within ±0.1dB from 1Hz-12kHz into 8ohm, rolling off to –0.3dB/20kHz and –5.8dB/100kHz.

But what of the 5010’s speaker-driving ability? In short, excellent, with a solid 2x213W/8ohm increasing to 2x415W/4ohm (this amp has a very tightly regulated power supply) and 220W, 428W, 804W and 1.22kW available into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads under dynamic conditions [see Graph 1]. The maximum 35A current is limited by protection but this still represents an uncommonly high headroom for a ‘200W’ amplifier, ensuring the 5010 monoblocks will drive any likely partnering loudspeaker with consummate ease. PM

Continuous power (<1% THD, 8/4ohm): 213W / 415W
Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm): 220W / 428W / 804W / 1.22kW
Output imp. (20Hz–20kHz, pre/power): 46ohm / 0.011–0.018ohm
Freq. resp. (20Hz–100kHz, pre/power): +0.0 to –7.2dB / +0.0 to –5.8dB
Input sensitivity (for 0dBV/0dBW): 190mV (pre) / 179mV (power)
A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBV/0dBW): 94.6dB (pre) / 98.2dB (power)
Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 1V/10W): 0.0001–0.0003%/0.0006–0.005%
Power consump. (pre/idle/rated o/p): 10W / 45W/330W (mono)
Dimensions (WHD, Pre/Pow)/Weight: 440x90(115)x300mm/6kg (14kg)
Prices (pre/power amp): £2000/£4550 (pair)