Rick P

I've used my KG 5.2's with both the McIntosh MC240/MX110 (all tubes) and with the MC2100/MX113 (solid state). The tube system was part of an estate so had to be sold. Both systems drove the KG 5.2's just fine but I had the opposite complaint when I switched to the solid state system. The solid state MC2100 exhibited a firmer bass response, which made the 5.2 sound really solid, but overall the sound severely lacked that wonderful "tube" warmth I had with the MC240. I found the KG 5.2's sounded poor with the solid state equipment vs. the tube equipment and wasn't happy. I learned way way, WAY back in school that tubes add harmonics to sound, which at that time was considered a negative because tubes tend to color the original sound so that it's no longer the original sound. During that time everything was pushing toward solid state as the superior reproductive sound systems, and I was taught that in school! Well that might be nice on paper but I personally missed that warm sound with the MC2100 and considered selling it. But I had a thought. Since I was using a front end mixer (I have 5 input devices) I purchased a simple tube preamp which I placed between the mixer and the MX113. It was an amazing fairly inexpensive solution. It returned that tube warmth sound and made the MC2100 sound just like the more valuable tube amp/preamp I had sold! In fact I no longer miss the tube amp and perfectly happy with the solid state MC2100 and my KG 5.2's. I concluded logically that you really don't need the entire pre-amp/amp to be tubes to get that signature tube sound. Just a couple tubes on the front end of a solid state system will gave that same warm sound as the tube amp. The solid state system simply replicates the harmonic's provided by that front end tube. That was my experience. So my theory on the KG 5.2's is that they seem to respond vastly different, depending on your equipment.