The receiver definately has discreet amplification. It also has a pretty large torroidal transformer feeding the power supply for a receiver at this level.
While this may well be true, the power specifications for this receiver are quite wimpy:

AMPLIFIER SECTION
Power output, stereo mode, 8 ohms, THD 0.05%, 20Hz-20kHz | 2 x 100W
Surround Mode, only one channel driven
Front power output, 8 ohms, 1kHz, 0.7% THD | 110W + 110W
Center power output, 8 ohms, 1kHz, 0.7% THD | 110W
Surround power output, 8 ohms, 1kHz, 0.7% THD | 110W + 110W
Surround back / ROOM2 power output, 8 ohms, 1kHz, 0.7% THD, 110W + 110W

When this receiver goes into surround mode, the power level must drop because Sherwood only rates the power for a single channel, at a single frequency, and the distortion level jumps considerably. This is not the case with the Denon, HK, Yamaha and Marantz receivers. The receiver is indeed heavy, however there is no mention of just how large that "huge torroidal transformer" is in the literature.