An unexpected turn of events:

Listening to my system lately, I'm a little disappointed. It wasn't as sweet sounding as I remembered it just last week. Drums with the 8000S are big, which can be fun, but I'm starting to think they are overblown. And it just isn't sounding as transparent and organized as my Exposure stuff...more jumbled, with added grain. I never felt that about music played back through the Exposure during the time I used it. And the Exposure could sound big too, it's not a wimpy amp, but perhaps it does this when the music calls for it and not all the time. Maybe this is what RGA talked about with his comments about damping and negative feedback (which Exposure probably uses, but not to the same degree).

Anyways, I don't know...I don't want to open that can of worms. I'm just reaching for an explanation as to why it's sounding the way it did. More listening is required...I didn't get rid of my Exposure gear yet, so I'll be comparing over the next several weeks. I'll continue to use the 8000S with my Quads. I should, in a few weeks, be able to try out the ProAc and Paradigm speakers. Both the 8000S and 2010s2 amps will get a shot with all of these speakers. I'll see what configuration I prefer. Right now it's looking like the 2010s2 might be coming back into the system. I'll be getting my Apollo back soon, it should be next weekend.