Well, I finally broke down and bought a (used) Diamond Audio D7152 (150RMS x 2) to run my front 6.5 Diamond Hex speakers. Puts out the best sounding 150RMS I have heard to date. Other amps I had running fronts includes JL 300/2 (150 x 2), Diamond D5 600.2 (150 x 2), Memphis 16ST200 (100 x 2) and the PPI PCX4125 (4 x 125 or 2 x 500).

Not sure why I am posting this really but in case anyone looks into a D7 series amp I give em a huge thumbs up! The other Diamond and the JL put out the same power as the D7 and the PPI puts out 500 x 2 (I tried this for awhile) but the D7 is noticeably better - the other three sounded insanely good too, but the D7 is the only one so far that really stands out.

Maybe a watt isn't always just a watt...

 

It all has to do with the way the amp handles the inductance caused by the coil.