Chas,
For what it's worth, I went from a 1070 to a 7075/990 (now 970). I noticed very little improvement in power output (obviously since it's only 10wpc more) but if you want the same kind of powerful sound as the 1070 I think it would be a definite improvement over a mass market receiver's amp section.
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HT:
Pioneer VSX-1120
Salk Songbirds, SongCenter, SongSurrounds
Panasonic BDP-45
Outlaw LFM-2

2 Channel:
Red Dragon M-500 monoblocks
BAT-VK3i
Salk HT-1TL's
Apple TV
Beresford 7520 DAC
Surgex XS10