OK, 2 cents' worth from a new member. MerkurNut is exactly right, and thanks for the suggestion about the o-scope (of course I haven't seen one since 1977 when we hooked up a McIntosh speaker and watched the woofer cone respond down to 1/2 Hz! - one of my hallmates "borrowed" it from the physics lab). Anyway, the McIntosh amps I'm installing have what's called PowerGuard, which compares input and output signals and monitors itself for distortion; once a minimal level is reached, the amps cut their output safely below clipping. Then there's the rated power issue: don't get sucked into anything rated "peak power," you'd be lucky to get 25% of "continuous rms" output without clipping, which occurs when overdriving an underpowered amp and fries speakers. And an amp's an amp; the crossover (which separates a full frequency range into defined signals and routes them to speakers matched for those frequencies) determines the appropriate use for the amp. Crossovers are sometimes built into the amps, sometimes into the speaker boxes, or sometimes are separate components between the amp and component speaker drivers. If you're looking for true power and true music reproduction, do some homework before you buy. Don't get caught up in empty numbers and looks.
Just joined forum today, looks very promising!