riffman,
Incidentally, I would agree with you that high-quality 2-channel stereo is preferable to crummy multi-channel surround from tiny satellites and a lousy sub. Provided, of course, that the 2-channel stereo is truly accurate, neutral and transparent, not just expensive (the two do not necessarily correlate).
And 20 to 30 years ago, disc recording and playback technology only permitted quality 2-channel reproduction. The 4-channel attempts with Quad were very compromised. Disc technology at the time could not encode undistorted reproduction of 4 channels. It simply didn't work very well. And music producers in the pop/rock arena didn't know how to utilize the extra channels effectively. (That dilemma still exists for many producers of DVD-A and SACD recordings. Do we really want to feel immersed in the middle of a band? )
Regards,
