This sounds like another one of those subjects nobody should post about without a beer in hand.

My own experience is that having a good power amp (high quality, heavy, 150+ WPC) does make a difference but (a) I have no idea why that is, and (b) amps in high end receivers seem to have gotten a lot better in the last 5-ish years so maybe that isn't true any more.

My personal theory is that being able to watch the power meters adds another sensory input and makes the sound SEEM better

M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8