WHAT’S THE BLOODY POINT?

British HiFi brand Exposure Electronics is launching the 360, its first ever turntable. And I’m here to ask this question, “Why?”

Why? Because the new Exposure turntable, priced at £1,300, the first ever turntable from the company, is a Rega P6. Or should I say that, to me, it looks like a P6. I cannot see any differences between the two and, after chatting with a representative of the company, I am more convinced than ever that the 360 is a rebadged P6. Unless Exposure is hiding something up its sleeve. And if it is, it’s keeping quiet about it.

So, for now? There’s is no real point in travelling down the 360 spec sheet for you here because, if you have any knowledge of the Rega P6 at all, that is the spec of this particular turntable release. 

I must emphasise, the Exposure press release doesn’t say it’s a P6, there is no mention of Rega at all within this document and Exposure has not mentioned the tie in with Rega but it will take any experienced HiFi user approximately 4.3 seconds to recognise the design. I did it in slightly less time, I have to say. Mainly because I’m a smart arse. 

So why not just buy a P6 from Rega? Why bother with the 360 at all? The only reason I can fathom lies with the aesthetics. The look of the “Exposure” turntable is very nice indeed, I have to say, with its red platter mat and the Exposure logo and colouring. So, if you have an Exposure system or any Exposure electronics, amplifiers or whatnot, this new turntable will fit in very nicely.

Actually, a larger problem with opting for the Exposure over Rega itself is that Exposure is not selling this turntable with a plug and play option. At least Rega is doing that. Looking at a selection of dealers here in the UK, if I want to buy a Rega P6, I am given a menu of cartridge options (either none at all or one of three Rega cartridges) before I hand over my cash. Not with the Exposure 360. I have checked three dealers here in the UK, all looking to sell the new Exposure 360, and none of them offer cartridge bundling offers from the sales page. 

Nowadays, at that price point? I think a bundle should be an option and, at the very least, a retailer install should be part of the deal on the 360’s own sales page.

If you’re an experienced HiFi user then sure you can have a quiet word with the retailer and possibly buy a separate cartridge and then ask them to install it for you before shipping but there are many less experienced, even tentative users out there who are joining the vinyl and turntable fold and are excited to buy a higher-end design, who might be scared off by viewing a retailer sales page of the 360 showing nothing but dangling cartridge wires and no cartridge bundle options. A bundle/fitting option should be part of the 360 deal, part of the sales page furniture, even at this price point. 

Rega does it at this price point. Pro-Ject does it at this price point. Why not Exposure?

In broad terms, in offering the 360 at all? I can see Exposure’s reasoning. Maybe it is looking to expand its range to form a sort of one-stop shop bundling option for their customers? Keeping everyone within the Exposure family, as it where?

I’m just not sure that this is the way to go about it. And this is an additional issue I have with the 360. And it makes me a little sad because Exposure is known for its engineering prowess, its unique and competitive designs.

Take NAD, for example, with its C558 and C588 turntables. When NAD was looking to release its turntables, it trundled over to Pro-Ject, selected a bag of bits from that company, less than common bits but still essentially Pro-Ject parts, and then put their chosen parts together to create a surprisingly unique turntable. Uniquely NAD, actually. And excellent they are too.

Exposure should have gone in that direction, in my opinion. To produce a turntable that you could point at any say, “That? That is an Exposure product.”

Instead? What we have here is a distinctly underwhelming new ‘first’ release. There is nothing unique about this one. There is nothing ‘Exposure’ about this one either.

This is the company’s first ever turntable, let us not forget. And that is a big, big deal. This is a major launch. It’s a major moment in the life of any HiFi manufacturer. Exposure could have arrived in the analogue scene with all guns blazing. They could have arrived with a bang. Instead? They blew it. 

To see a host of Exposure product that does make sense, click www.exposurehifi.com