Unless you rear speakers are more than cubes I wouldn't bother with upgrading the amplification for them.
I have "junk" rear channels in my 4.1 system and I have never noticed them lacking for movies. Even when listening to surround SACDs I don't notice a deficiency unless the recording is centered in the music. I have a LAGQ SACD that places each guitar in a different speaker and it obviously doesn't work with my Focals opposite the "junk" rears.
I would consider putting the money toward something else.
If you're talking about going 7.1 then there may be some gains, but I'm a big fan of 4.1 or 5.1 over 7.1 unless you have a dedicated room for movies. I just don't think it makes that much difference to the movie experience where visuals distract quite well.
I have "junk" rear channels in my 4.1 system and I have never noticed them lacking for movies. Even when listening to surround SACDs I don't notice a deficiency unless the recording is centered in the music. I have a LAGQ SACD that places each guitar in a different speaker and it obviously doesn't work with my Focals opposite the "junk" rears.
I would consider putting the money toward something else.
If you're talking about going 7.1 then there may be some gains, but I'm a big fan of 4.1 or 5.1 over 7.1 unless you have a dedicated room for movies. I just don't think it makes that much difference to the movie experience where visuals distract quite well.