That is strange. I don't know how the Sherwood works, but on my Denon all I have 2 do is make sure the source is selected (my DVD/CD player is hooked up to the DVD connect in back, so I set the receiver to 'DVD') and then I have the option to change the playback in the Denon to 'Stereo', 'Pure', 'Pure Direct', '5/7 Channel', 'DTS Neo 6.1', 'Dolby 5.1', 'THX', or 'Mono'.

There should be no reason your CD's wouldn't play in 5.1 stereo, its simply a function of your reciever.

My Stuff :

M80's
QS8's
VP150
EP800
Denon 4802
Emotiva XPA-3
Samsung BD-P3600
Sharp 65 Inch Aquos LCD