As usual, gonk hits the nail on the head.
I used to think that you could look at the specs of an amp and pick out the best amp, but I have found that in reality that is not the case. There is a big difference between a high quality "stereo" amp and a standard class a/b amp. I really love my Outlaw 7100 and there is no competition between the 7100 and a receiver. The Outlaw 7100 was my first real "wow" upgrade, but there is an equally impressive upgrade for two channel with a really good "stereo" amp and, as gonk says, you have to pay for it. For HT, there is absolutely no reason to look anywhere besides Outlaw (I have not heard Emotiva) and, in my opinion, Outlaw is THE name in price/performance.

Don