I scanned that article and it raised more questions than it answered. In order to hear sound all around you, do you have to keep moving your head around? With my 5:1 setup, I can detect whether something is in front or behind even if I am standing still. I don't know enough about how the ear works to know how directionality works, but it does it somehow.
Also, the review says that the unit took a song that was multi-miked and mixed with absolutely no attempt at coherent soundstage, and when it was processed, the instruments were all laid out separated in a realistic spread. That one sounds like a reviewer who is treading into hyperbole. I don't see how it could take apart a mix and rearrange the position of the instruments. I've heard synthetic stereo systems that attempt that, but inevitably, the pluck of the bass gets separated from the fundamental, and the harmonics of an oboe gets spread all over the place.
If it's reworking the stereo spread itself, not just placing it within a virtual space, it can make stereo recordings out of mono ones. Does it know to put violins on the left?
It sounds like most people use it like the DSP settings on an AV amp for home theater. I can totally see that. I use a DSP setting for converting stereo to 5:1 on my Yamaha receiver, but that's a subtle thing, and it doesn't change the front soundstage imaging built into the recording. I don't know if I want a DSP to monkey around with that.
It's been my experience that I don't want multiple synthetic environments. I just want the one that works right in my particular room to fill it with a natural balance. I definitely want the layout of the channels that the engineer mixing the film creates in 5:1 movies. I wouldn't want to add reverberation simulating a big cavernous theater or anything like that. And in stereo and mono music, I want to maintain the forward spread the way it is in the recording.