Ok ive had this Exposure XV amplifier for almost 11 years now, and I love it, it sound great and kinda has some sentimental value as it was the first true high end component that I owned. For those not familiar with Exposure, they are a smallish British hifi brand that hand makes most of thier equipment. They are popular with the Naim and Linn "flat earth" crowd. IMO with the right speakers trhey are the best youll get for rock music. They are known for thier over built fully regulated power supplies. Check out the power supply in my 35watt integrated its definitly overkill. Heres some info if interested.
Exposure product archive
Ok to make a long story short, I descided it was time to replace the power supply caps, Exposure reccomends about every 15 years and mine was made in 1992. I replaced them and turned on the amp and heard a pop and fizzle then nothing. Aparently i was a little sloppy and a little piece of solder or wire was loose in the case and shorted something out. I tracked it down to a small ztx552 transistor in the power supply, nothing else looks harmed no burns or anything, and thier or no opamps or IC to fry so I think im ok if I replace the ZTX552. The problem is Im having a hard time finding them in small quantites, everyone has a minimum of like 100. I just need one or two. Also there qare two small blue pots for adjusting something, Ive read its for adjusting the regulate voltage for the output stage, but I can find a schematic or anything to make sure its adjusted correrectly, Exposure wants me to bring it to an authorized repair place but there arent any nearbye and they will prolly charge and arm and a leg!! Any ideas??
Exposure product archive
Ok to make a long story short, I descided it was time to replace the power supply caps, Exposure reccomends about every 15 years and mine was made in 1992. I replaced them and turned on the amp and heard a pop and fizzle then nothing. Aparently i was a little sloppy and a little piece of solder or wire was loose in the case and shorted something out. I tracked it down to a small ztx552 transistor in the power supply, nothing else looks harmed no burns or anything, and thier or no opamps or IC to fry so I think im ok if I replace the ZTX552. The problem is Im having a hard time finding them in small quantites, everyone has a minimum of like 100. I just need one or two. Also there qare two small blue pots for adjusting something, Ive read its for adjusting the regulate voltage for the output stage, but I can find a schematic or anything to make sure its adjusted correrectly, Exposure wants me to bring it to an authorized repair place but there arent any nearbye and they will prolly charge and arm and a leg!! Any ideas??
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sorry i couldn't figure out how to put more than one pic in a post. I really want to get this baby working again. I will have to be more careful next time
Theres a few more parts id like to update when I get it working too. Id like to add an IEC socket so I can try a better power cord, and id like to replace those blue philips radial lead lytics with a better cap, some of those are in the signal path!
Theres a few more parts id like to update when I get it working too. Id like to add an IEC socket so I can try a better power cord, and id like to replace those blue philips radial lead lytics with a better cap, some of those are in the signal path!Attachments
Type 'ztx552 equivalent' into Google and see what comes up. A quick look suggest the BC640. But any PNP with the same voltage rating, Ic and approximately the same Hfe should work. make sure you double-check the pin-outs before soldering in place, though.
Nice amp, and definitely worth fixing!
Nice amp, and definitely worth fixing!
I hope this fixes the problem. This was my first "high end" component, and its what made me change the way I thought about audio equipment. When I was younger i wanted the biggest most powerful best specs....etc. This little integrated made me realize that quality is usually better than quantity, and that specs don't tell you much about how good a component sounds. Its amazing how powerful this little 35watt amp sounds! Thanks guys
Does anyone have a schematic for this amp?? I havent had any luck finding one? Im new to diy and Im a bit interested in learning about the design of this amplifier. What I do know is that its was designed by a fellow named John Farlowe, it runs class b for about 35-40 watts and its a fully regulated power supply. Other than that I dont know much.
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