Well yeah - marketing often stretches the truth! (I've worked all my life in advertising....)
There will be SQ improvements in some, defined circumstances - such as when the other amp is underpowered and goes into clipping for example.
It was minus 5 C here at that time. That's plus 23 for those working in F. :) Blimey - we were 6 degrees (C) colder than Canada!
I wouldn't say 'misleading'. I'd say 'marketing'. :)
That is very honest of Emo and is also true. If an amp changes the sound, then it is either defective or deliberately designed to do so (some people call this 'using the amp as tone control'). It follows that if amps do not change the sound, but just make it louder, then there can be no difference in SQ from one well-designed amp to another, if they are working as designed and not clipping etc. Good amps cannot and should not and will not make 'highs seem clearer' or 'vastly improve the soundstage' or 'make the imaging much more precise'. All those are functions of other equipment in the chain.
It will cost you some dollars to send the XPA back but consider it as the price to pay for what you have learned. It will save you a lot of wasted money in the future and will direct you to spending money where the big SQ differences are heard - the room and the speakers.
You have the 750s IIRC? (I have the S150s and SS150 Tripole surrounds). I have heard the 750s on demo and was impressed with them for the price and can understand why you say you may have to spend a lot to get better sound - but if you like the M&K sound, have you considered the S150s? They will cost you way less than six grand. They rarely come up on the secondhand market in good condition (people tend to keep them) but you can, for some reason, often find the SS150 Tripoles (described by some reviews as "the best surround speakers in the world" - although I take that with a grain of salt as there is no such thing as 'best' in that context, but it gives you an idea of how well received they are) available used. In fact I bought my own that way, in perfect condition, for about half the retail price. A pair was sold on eBay in the UK last week for a third of the new price (and also in perfect condition). Just a thought.
The voicing is similar but they are vastly different speakers, hence the substantial price difference. The S150s (usually but not always the active versions) are the ones used by many pro sound studios, mixing rooms and editing suites:
Please excuse long OT post. @Mods: please delete if you feel it is too much.
What is it you are looking for? Why did you feel that the Integra was lacking? Is there something about your sound that is less than ideal to your ears?
Do you have a dedicated room and/or would treatments be out of the question?
The usual places to look for SQ improvements, if that is what you are after, are the room and the speakers. Electronics really don't make much difference these days. If you give us some more clue, I am sure people will jump in with their ideas. You know now that amps make no real difference to SQ (with the provisos we have discussed) so you can stop looking there. A good AVR may be a solution for you if you have other issues besides SQ - eg you need more channels or Audyssey XT32 or whatever. If not, then I would stay with the Integra and look at the room and the speakers.
You wanted more from an amp than it makes the input signal louder? What?
