harley- One of the best sounding systems I've heard used a 45 watt Pass Labs amp. It created a soundstage so detailed that you could walk between the performers. They were using Wilson speakers.

Feanor- I find the same thing with my little tripath. A good recording is a thing of beauty. The amount of detail and soundstaging is up there (especially on battery power) with some of the best amps. A bad recording is just that.