Thanks Zimm.
I guess the problem is that I don't have a good understanding the relationship between the speakers, the wattage/power/signal produced by the amp, and the amount of distortion heard. At least, I don't understand it as well as I ought to.
In my case, I did some of this testing when I first got my LPA, and if I remember correctly:
From my couch, ~12ft away from my M80's, running with a 50hz cutoff (the only DSP), and my SVS sub switched *off*, 2-channel audio, my VSX43-TX could drive my M80's to about 97-98db (using the de-facto Rat Shack SPL meter) and then the sound would start to distort. Highs got weird, bass got flabby, just not pleasant. And pushed any harder and SQ went downhill very quickly without any increase in db. I didn't keep it there for more than a second because I know that can damage speakers. That's loud, but not loud enough for 'reference' material, IMHO.
With the LPA and the same test, I can get to 105-106db. At that point there was just a hint of strain from the system, but that may have been my hearing, as that was more than adequate for 'reference' tests. And therefore, I am happy with the LPA.
How do I equate those db figures with the actual wattage that the amps are producing?
No ledge yet!
