Wow. Thank you very much Alan! Great info, as usual.
Oh yes, 105+db is crazy loud. I'd never actually watch an entire movie or listen to music at that volume. But I want my system to be able to peak at that cleanly if I need it to. Everyone enjoys cranking up a demo scene, every now and then.
I didn't realize that Onkyo's (of the past) were on the 'iffy' list for receivers. Of course, it doesn't technically matter for me because I can continue to use my LPA to drive the M80's, if I were to get an 'iffy' receiver.
Peter, I just logged on and saw the interesting debate continue so I thought I'd do a quick experiment. I measured the room level from 12 feet from my m80s (all 7.1 channels; Q8s, VP150, EP500) with the 876 driving into 4 ohms - and measured a little over 91 db with some Vivaldi - and measured over 95 db driving at 6 ohms (the 876 does not have an 8 ohm setting), with the same music. No clipping or distortion whatsoever. These were both max settings, but I could only tolerate it for about 20 seconds - my ears are still ringing.
