Ohms (no, i'm not meditating, though maybe that would help)

[Ghoulish Delight]

I have read that underpowering a speaker can cause issues, not just in terms of lower max volume, but actually damaging the speakers in the long run.

For many reasons, the route of a stand alone receiver (rated at 6-8ohms) has shaped up to be the right choice. Now just gotta pull the trigger (actually, gotta decide on a TV first).