Bill, that was the point; your post misinterprets the numbers in two respects: that only the SC-05 rating is "continuous"(the VSX23 and all other amplifiers have to use a continuous rating under the FTC regs)and that the basic FTC rating of the SC-05 is with all channels driven(both ratings, 110 and 140 watts, are at the minimum required two channels driven). A requirement to drive all channels simultaneously at the full rated power for at least five consecutive minutes is totally unrealistic in the real world of home listening. Such a condition essentially never occurs; the two-channel requirement is closer to reality, and most manufacturers, including Pioneer, use it. Audioholics, among others, has pointed this out in connection with their lab tests.

I too have an Onkyo 805 and was curious what adding a power amp would make. What I had on hand was an old Rotel RB-985MK2. The 805 seems to have more power, but I prefer the sound of the Rotel. So now it's the 805 pulling pre-pro and zone 2 duties while the Rotel pumps the juice for zone 1. A big bonus is that the 805 now runs a lot cooler than before while the Rotel only gets slightly warm to the touch despite relatively high volume movie marathons. IMHO YMMV yadda yadda yadda, hope this helps.

I think outboard "anything" but especially with amps will give one benefits already discussed in power output BUT, in my view,these benefits kick-in especially over the long haul. I went to outboard amps and later video processing along with an AVR used as a pre-pro back a couple of years ago and the benefits, to me, are just now forthcoming. With the mainstream companies bringing out new models at various price levels at a record pace every year, one can go a little crazy about this IF one wants to keep "up-to-date" with the current features.

Since the mainstream companies offer AVRs at different price levels, whether it is the mid/lower level or top line AVR, they generally share the same audio processing chips. The difference in price in the various models usually comes in amplifier power, more exotic video processing capabilities, some connectivity issues and miscellaneous items that often are superfluous to many buyers.

Having outboard amps(which never suffer from obsolescence)allows me to purchase the lower level AVR(as long as it has pre-outs)at usually considerable less money but still essentially getting similar results in audio quality.

It should be noted, I use my system almost exclusively for audio/video HT purposes so other forms of connectivity are of no value to me. Others may want the features only available in the higher end units and are willing to pay that considerable extra for them.