Yeah, I hear you. I started with a Kenwood 100wpc receiver driving these speakers back 20 years ago, thinking it would have sufficient power. I could get plenty of volume, but little bass and the speakers always sounded "thin". I really didn't know much about audio gear and was ready to get rid of the JBLs when someone mentioned the problem was characteristic of Japanese built receivers.
So for the next sixteen years, a 125wpc NAD amp and its preamp made me a pretty happy listener. Last year, I decided to purchase the Outlaw gear and this provided another big improvement with clarity and separation of sound--as in being able to hear the individual instruments much more clearly--in all types of music. Maybe its a case of warm (NAD) vs bright (Outlaw) as some have described it, but there's a huge difference in those eight watts somewhere...at least for me.