“If you haven’t got the right amplifier to drive your speakers, your system doesn’t stand a chance,” says Hi-Fi Choice. And to prove that the ‘right’ amplifier doesn’t have to be a stratospherically expensive one, the magazine picks out “six great designs worth checking out” from £399 to £1,990.

Among the five-star selections is Exposure’s XM5, a half-width integrated amp that’s cleverly crafted for music lovers seeking great performance across multiple media but who don’t want the size or cost of their system to spiral out of the real world.

“Fully featured, it boasts a wonderfully musical sound considering both its compact size and price tag,” says Hi-Fi Choice. “It searches out the musicality of any recording like a heat-seeking missile… the sheer brio with which it makes music creates the illusion of it being far more powerful than it really is. One of the key aspects of this is the bass, which is powerful, fluid and tuneful.”

Compact, and very bijou indeed, then.

Read the full feature in the November 2018 issue of Hi-Fi Choice

Find out more about the XM5 at www.exposurehifi.com