I had been playing around with a pair of Cary CAD 572 SE monoblocks to drive KEF LS50s. When I introduced an Ayre K-5xeMP it seemed to move the sound even with solid state amps a bit in the direction of the Cary tube amps. I'm now using a KX-5 Twenty preamp with a VX-5 Twenty amp -- think of ab AX-5 Twenty as separates. The sound is pretty much as nitewulf describes it. BTW, the QX-5 Twenty digital hub is a superb addition, with DSD files from Acoustic Sounds sounding perhaps even better than the SACD played on my C-5xeMP.
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