John, the last bit of information that i just realized that we do not have is, what audio processing mode the receiver was set to. If it was dolby pro logic, or any of the dolby settings, the majority of the "music" would have been coming from the center not the M22's. If the receiver was set to stereo/enhanced stereo, or 6 channel stereo, then the L/R/ all channels would have received the same signal. Without this information we can not make the assumption that the M22's made it though, maybe they weren't receiving much of a signal during said incident.
Also, An SLP meter will not work when a wife knows where the "volume knob" is... Hawk, there should be a "volume limit" option in the settings of the receiver, this will limit the max output, so if the wife wants to "turn it up" you can control how much she gets.
The next question would be. How often does your wife has these "parties"? and do you expect her to continue having these "parties". if either of those answers is often/yes, then i say get bigger speakers as Alan said... I would say buy bigger speakers, run them off of the receiver that you already own, see if they are loud enough for you and the wife. It is possible that with larger speakers you will get more output for your given amount of power, so you may not need more power (aka external amp), as John said your receiver is rated for 100W.
Yet another option would be, if your receiver has 2 zones buy some Algonquins to install outside where the wife had/has her party/parties, this way she can play those speakers, rather than the "inside" speakers. You will have to ensure that she understands why and is willing to do this though. Under this scenario, i would be willing to agree with Johns recommendation.
P.S. a quick look at that painfully long instruction manual says your receiver does have 2 zones (john, i feel for you reading through those things!!), with assignable amplifier channels. So the Algonquin idea would work for you.
Last edited by dakkon; 11/29/11 04:08 AM.