IMHO the jury is still out on this. Virtually everyone I have spoken with agrees that dedicated two channel is generally far superior at a given price point until you start talking about a lot of money. Room acoustics and placement issues also reduce the chance that you will obtain audiophile quality sound, as do all the engineering and production tweaks inherent in movie soundtracks and effects. Having said that, it certainly is possible to get very satisfying HT sound and certainly improve dramatically the sound quality offered in consumer grade and entry level audiophile systems. I think that we need more technology to overcome some of these issues (e.g. inexpensive flat screen TV's so we can eliminate the problem of a giant TV or entertainment cabinet in between your from right and left channels) and more experience with HT - it is relatively new when compared to stereo gear. I recommend a setup where music is played through dedicated two channel gear with an A/V loop for the front right and left channels when watching movies. Still not perfect given placement issues, but it is a cost effective way or preserving high quality 2 channel sound and saving money on your HT setup.
