A bit more. Yes, you can hook up an amp or a bunch of amps to your receiver, if your receiver has pre-outs. These pre outs, provide unamplified signals which you can transmit by cables to an outboard amplifier(s). Bypassing the onboard amp(s) of your receiver allows you to use your receiver as a preamp or processor.
I have a Sony STRDB 1070, 6 channel receiver rated at 100 watts per channel. No way does this thing's amplifier section put out that kind of power. The processing section is pretty good though. So, I picked up 3 Onkyo M282 2 channel amps, connected to the receiver from the receiver's pre-outs.
I have an Onkyo TXDS 797 receiver which I use as a processor. I use a 2 channel Onkyo M504 amp for the front L/R channels, and an Anthem PVA 5 amp with 5 channels for the center, side surrounds and back surrounds.
