what confuses me is the 80wpc of elite vs 120wpc for vsx.can someone shed some light on this matter for me
Most Elite models (especially the higher-end ones) deliver the rated power with all channels driven.
Cheaper AVRs generally don't (and many cheaper power amps could not, as well). It may shock you that many mainstream AVRs only output less than a third of their published ratings with all channels driven (because their ratings are based on channel performance, with only one or two channels driven).
The Elite SC-09TX for example is rated at 140w per channel with all channels driven, but it can actually deliver a very clean 200wpc with 7 channels driven into 8 ohms. The VSX-1120 that's rated at 120w per channel (two channels driven) may not even reach 40w per channel with 7 channels driven into 8 ohms at low distortion levels. The popular Onkyo TX-SR608 pushes even less at about 30w per channel in this configuration, as measured by a popular publication.
The SC-09TX can sustain 530wpc or so into 2 channels at lower impedances. That's more than what many power amps can deliver.