I have the nr818. It can dump over 170W into both fronts at once but that's in steady-state. Its transient response absolutely sucks. I only discovered this recently. My 55W pioneer mid-grade audiophile receiver is a killer compared to my Onk.
There is practically no difference between a 100W and 120W amp. To double the SPL, you need to double the power and doubling the SPL won't result in a doubling of perceived loudness. For a doubling of perceived loudness, you'd need about nine times the power!
What you need is a good pre/pro and a good amp. With well-recorded material, I listen at 2W average. When a 20dB peak is reached, with for example a drum, I need 256W to reproduce that peak. What we all need isn't high RMS (except for Slimpikins who plays his Bryston Model T at 32W steady-state), or constant, power. We need HUUUUGE peak power. Unfortunately no one has figured out how to build an amp with teeny constant power and huge peak power.
I think Axiom is in the middle of a stand re-design.
