Thanks for sharing your experiment Eric. It is very interesting.
I'd like to recommend a quartete recording for your experimentation.
Isla Rosada by the Este Mundo.
Este Mundo I mention this one because it was recorded in the Indian River Church. A building renowned for it's exceptional accoustics and Summer Music Festival. It therefore has a very 'feels like you are right there' sound in just stereo. I normally prefer music down in the 5.1 HT room.
I enjoy this one the most in Stereo mode in my living room. Maybe because it has vaulted ceilings, beams on the roof and a catwalk in the upper rear. (In other words, I never realized how church like this room turned out to be until it was done.) In stereo mode, I get an amazing illusion of surround sound from this particular CD that sounds better than my 5.1 system in my smaller square HT room. Most other music I own sounds richer when I take it down to become converted to 5.1 and have the EP500 thrown in.
I'd be curious for you to apply your testing to this or a similar type recording. Of course room acoustics may play a big part in this one but it might be an interesting test for you.
A note in case you take a liking to their music: At the time of this recording, they were a quartet but they have since lost the Cello player and remain a trio. They are still exceptional guitar players but I feel their newer music has really lost some depth.
