+1 to what wheelz is saying.
When I had older Yamaha 5 chanell amp, adding an Emotiva UPA-2 amp made a startling difference with my then Energy Speakers.
Most multi channel amplifier measure WATT output power by the stereo.
Two Pioneer Elite AVR example specs.
VSX23THX
Front (stereo) 110 W + 110 W
Power output (1 kHz, 6 Ω, 0.05 %, 1 ch driven)
150 W per channel
Guaranteed speaker impedance 16 Ω to 8 Ω,
less than 8 Ω to 6 Ω (setting required)
SC-05
Multi channel simultaneous power output (1 kHz, 1 %, 8 Ω)
7ch total 700 W (SC-07)/630 W (SC-05)
Continuous Power Output (20 Hz to 20 kHz, 8 Ω, 0.09 %)
Front 140 W + 140 W
Center 140 W
Surround 140 W + 140 W
Surround back 140 W + 140 W
Continuous Power Output (1 kHz, 6 Ω, 1.0 %)
Front 180 W + 180 W
Center 180 W
Surround 180 W + 180 W
Surround back 180 W + 180 W
Total harmonic distortion 0.05 %
(20 Hz to 20 kHz, 130 W, 8 Ω)
SC-05 is continuous power. I love it, my M22, M2 and QS8 are unreal on the SC-05 (which I upgraded to from the VSX23THX).
