Exposure IV Dual
The Exposure IV Dual is the dual-mono version of the company's classic IV integrated amplifier. It belongs to Exposure's fourth generation of designs and follows the Exposure III. John Farlowe designed it, and it came out in the early 1980s. It sat above the standard IV and below the later IV Super, which added a more powerful supply and higher bias. The name tells you the main feature: twin transformers, dual-mono construction, and a separate power supply for each channel. That kind of channel separation was rarely found in integrated amps at this price. The IV Dual also used discrete components throughout the signal path, avoided integrated circuits, and had no tone controls. It was a purist, performance-first design. An MM phono stage was built in, the Alps volume potentiometer was a high-quality unit, and the speaker terminals accepted 4 and 8 ohm loads.
The original price was £250, which is remarkable for a dual-mono integrated built this way. Period directory listings are thin, though Audio (October 1991, p.148) included the model in its annual amplifier survey. The house sound was always about timing and musicality over absolute neutrality, and the IV Dual has the fast, detailed, rhythmically engaging character Exposure was known for. Owners consistently describe it as musical, engaging, and open for the money, and some say it beats many modern amps at a similar price for musicality. The record is not uniformly glowing, though. Some users find the Exposure IV family bright and lean, while others call it warm and involving, so tonal character depends on the system. Reliability reports conflict too. Some units have run for decades without issue, while others have proven troublesome. Aged capacitors are the main concern, causing channel imbalance or hum. Output relay failure and mechanical transformer hum have also been reported. Recapping is considered worthwhile if you plan to keep one long-term. Servicing is still available through Exposure, though spare parts are increasingly scarce.
Surviving documentation is thin. There is no service manual, no official specs for frequency response, THD, or signal-to-noise ratio, and no exact production years are recorded. Most sources state power output as 50 watts per channel, though one forum post rates the IV at 60W. Given the conflict, 50W is the safer figure. British hi-fi collectors increasingly seek out the IV Dual, and prices have risen steadily over the past five years.
- Integrated stereo amplifier, dual-mono construction
- 50W per channel (conflicting figure of 60W exists)
- Twin transformers, separate supply per channel
- Discrete components, no ICs in signal path
- Built-in MM phono stage
- No tone controls
- 4 and 8 ohm speaker terminals
- Original price: £250
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