My First Separate - My impressions

[vega2K]

Background/Set-up:
I hooked up my newly delivered Parasound HCA 2205AT (220watts x 5 channel) Amp. This is my first attempt at the separate amp world. First, just a little background: I consider myself to be a "layman" but knowledgeable when it comes to HT Audio/Video, etc. - I probably know a little more then the next guy mainly because of these forums. My receiver is a Pioneer Elite 94TXH (140watts x 5 channels) driving a 7.1 (actually a 7.2) system. My speakers are KEF's (iQ series) for the front and Infinity's for my rears. I have two powered Subwoofers. My Music/movie source is a PS3. You can check my gallery for more details.

The Parasound amp is working fine, it is about 5 to 7 years old and is in good condition. I chose it because of the price and the reviews I read. It drives my Front (L/R/C) and my Rear (L/R). The receiver drives the Rear Surrounds.

Based on all the comments about going from non-separates to separates, I expected an obvious and immediate difference. But I have to say that I have not seen it yet. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I did expect a huge difference. Yes the volume can be raised higher and the speakers can sound louder, but it is hard for me to tell a huge difference. Better imaging? More clarity? I don't know if I hear more of this, especially since my system was awesome in these respect to begin with.

Conclusions/questions so far:
1. Could it be that my Pioneer Elite receiver is just that good, that it gives similar results as a separate Amp (aside from volume) in terms of imaging, clarity, etc.? I really think this is a possibility.
2. Could the Parasound amp just not be as good as other amps? I know there are better amps but at the price point I paid, I doubt this, especially since it received excellent reviews.
3. Could it be that the 5 to 7 year old Parasound is just not up to date and is too old to compete with today's recievers (at least with Pioneer Elite)? I doubt this as well since not too much has changed in this time frame.
4. Could it be that I am just not sensitive enough or have the listening skills that could differentiate the before and after? Now this is a possibility, but I am not that old and I have noticed such differences at HT and A/V stores such as ABT.
5. Maybe I need to run MCACC again with the amp. I will do that but doubt it will make a huge difference.
6. Maybe my speakers are not the best to be used with a separate amp? Maybe they are efficient enough so that there isn't much of a difference?
7. I paid about $700 for the amp, could I have been better off applying that towards better speakers?
8. Did I miss anything?

Bottomline:
My set-up with the new separate amp sounds awesome both for movies and music, but it sounds about as awesome as when I didn't have it. Maybe as time goes by, I will notice more differences, but for now I am happy but not as impressed with my separate as I thought I would be. I like to call it as I see it and this is how I see it so far. Any comments would be welcomed!