Stories by: Martin Bell

Forget all the review speak, subjective ratings and technical mumbo-jumbo. The simple fact is that all the hi-fi components I've ever reviewed fall into three broad categories.

The Exposure line-up features three different ranges: the entry-level 2010 series, the middle ranking 3010 series and the range-topping "New Classics" series which--somewhat confusingly--sport Roman numeral model numbers. As part of this latter series, the XXII CD player is Exposure's premier source component. For all that, the Exposure XXII faces some pretty serious competition in the $3K to $5K price band and models from Meridian, Shanling, Sony, Marantz and Naim (to name just a few) knock the Exposure player into a cocked hat when it comes to looks and build quality.

We live in confusing times and few understand this better than the modern audiophile. Wander into your local specialist hi-fi emporium and you'll be dwarfed by enormous plasma screens, surrounded (quite literally) by boom 'n' tizz home theatre systems, and swamped by a plethora of boxes promising to deliver instant audio visual gratification.