"I think "punchiness" is more an attribute of the power amp and speakers." For what it's worth, I agree with this 100%. I think this statement actually identifies two separate contributors to what is basically a lack of dynamic response. The first one identifies the amp. I've been told that dynamic response is the most difficult thing for an amp to reproduce. The amps' power supply and capacitors are huge limiting factors. That's why I deliberately stayed away from using a single multi-channel amp for my system - the power supply, or "supplies" if the unit has 2, and the caps are too susceptible to being overworked during complex passages (strictly my "opinion" as I don't have the analytical equipment to verify this). I use multiple amps in my system to increase the number of power supplies and caps. The other item that was identified were the speakers. I'm not familiar with the particular models that you're using but I've found that more often than not it's more a factor of placement (timing of the arrival of sound waves to the ear) and room acoustics. Because each listening environment is unique, there aren't any set answers to this problem. All I can suggest is to very carefully visualize where the sound waves are going from each idividual driver in each speaker. IE: Which ones are direct shots and which ones are being deflected or reflected first (timing) as in the case of any speaker other than uni-directional (IE: subs, di-poles, bi-poles, side fire, etc). Don't forget to follow the path until the wave becomes "dead" or absorbed because errant sound waves can cancel, distort, or delay newly generated waves. Also keep in mind the shape of the sound wave that is being generated by each driver - IE: Is it bowl shaped, conical, etc. and how are the external fringes of the waves being reflected or absorbed, and how are they interfering with the other sound waves.
