I had a Sony STRDB1070 receiver rated at 100 watts x 6 channels. This rating was very misleading as it certainly did not put out anything like that with all channels driven. It probably put out more like 30 wpc all channels driven. So, although it is unlikely that by freeing up the front L/R channels will get you more than rated output for the remaining channels, you may get actual output closer to rated output.
A receiver is an integrated amp and a processor combined in a single box. They tend to be jacks of all trades ... masters of ... A dedicated processor will probably do its job better than the processor section of a receiver. A dedicated multichannel amp, or IMHO, even better, a gaggle of 2 channel amps will do their jobs better than what you'll find in most receivers.
I used the Sony STRDB1070 as a processor - preouts to 3 pair of Onkyo M282 2 channel amps. This resulted in an enormous improvement in sound quality. I then swapped the Sony STRDB1070 for a dedicated Sony processor and WOW, this resulted in an incredible improvement in sound quality.
Last edited by 2x6spds; 12/21/04 03:35 AM.
