Paul Klipsch said something like "What we really need is a good 10 watt amplifier", but obviously he wasn't a "serious audio person" by some standards.

2 decibels is 2 decibels, and it doesn't take much to make as much or more difference in volume. For instance, the obvious one is speaker sensitivity. Another is simply adding a powered sub. In contrast, an outstanding pre section can't be faked or added in later.

Finally, for $1500 one can get a pair of 2200's and have 200 wpc on the front channels. I stand by my statement: The 1070 is a damn good unit in it's price range, what more can one reasonably expect? Magic?