You keep suggesting that amp manufacturer is akin to speaker manufacturer. The big difference is... any good amp (by good, I mean suitable for HT use) these days has the specs to be in the inaudible range in distortion and SNR as long as they're not being overdriven. Technology is a wonderful thing. We're long past the 70s where S/S amplifier tech was still new, and past the 80s where big power amps were needed to drive passive subwoofers.
You'll only notice the difference blind if one's being driven into distortion.
Bren R.
I'm not trying to suggest the differences between amplifiers are as great as the differences between speakers. Clearly, the speaker makes the most difference in the audio chain. The only thing I'm saying is that I'll take the Outlaw separates (970 pre-pro/7075) over a $400 receiver any day of the week, and am confident I can hear the difference in a blind test.
I do disagree that you can break down an amp to its specification. There's more to an amplifier's "sound" than power, distorition, and frequency response. There are other components that can and do make a difference in the sound that have nothing to do with distortion from clipping or reserve power. The ear is a funny animal. It can pick up things that can't be easily, if at all, measured.
That aside, since you suggest (and I agree) that clipping is the biggest culprit in sound differnce between amps, isn't this a good reason to go with the pre-pro/separate amp combination? You spend more, but you get more reserve power, the ability to run all channels at rated power, and a lower noise floor - not to mention the extra flexibility of setup and better quality D/A converters. You also end up with cooler running electronics which will likely last longer (heat is the enemy... my receiver runs very warm, even though I only drive the center and surrounds from it).
