bigshot
Headphoneus Supremus
Multichannel is certainly expensive. But when it comes to the sound, 5.1 is as much better than stereo as stereo is to mono. Stereo creates a soundstage. Multichannel extends that to a sound field filling the whole room. And that isn't just so a guitar can be behind you. The surround speakers mesh to create ambiences that can simulate anything from inside a tight little box to being in a cathedral.99% of all music is recorded in stereo. And the cost of having to get 7 high quality speakers. Stereo works just fine.
There's a great deal of music mixed for multichannel. Just about every concert video is 5.1 now. Lots of classical recordings to choose from. Current music. Progressive rock. Classics from the Beatles and the Stones. And lately, Warner Bros has been opening up its archive of quadraphonic releases from the 70s and releasing albums in multichannel that haven't been heard that way in half a century. Plenty to choose from.
There are also upscalers on AVRs that convert stereo into multichannel. I use those 90% of the time myself. It's one of those things where you really don't know how important it is until you get the opportunity to hear a good multichannel rig.
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