I am a truly dedicated two channel guy, but would never hesitate to switch on my 5.1 channel for movies. Would I listen to music in 5.1? No, I would not. But if ask, "do you enjoy the 5.1 channel presentation during these movies?" Yes, I do! 5.1 is perfectly acceptable for the effects in a film. In fact, it adds to the enjoyment of the visual presentation. Movies are designed (and their sound) to place the viewer directly in the action. In this situation, you would rightfully expect sources of sound to come from all around you. I would never expect to hear that type of presentation in a musical performance, as I am NOT a conductor or a player in a rock group. That being the case, I prefer not to hear these artificial effects in the traditional music listening mode. This has everything to do with "reality" expectations. For instance, in my automobile, my expectations are much less than at home. Sound coming at me from all around is acceptable here. Why? The car is not a place where you can have expectations of believable concert presentation. The multiple speakers in an automobile are almost a requirement to provide the proper distribution of sound. The high ambient noise levels of driving reduces the available signal to noise ratio so drastically, that multiple speaker presentation is needed so that everyone can hear the music at an intelligible level. If possible, own both types of systems, and enjoy each for what it was designed to do. You will (in my opinion) be happier if you can separate the two into the categories that they were designed to perform.
Home Theatre - Hoax or Substance?
Being a dyed in the wool 2 channel advocate,I do wonder about Home Theatre or Multi Channel. Have recently auditioned several multi channel units. None of the sound like music. Too much woof,woof,tweet,tweet,boom,boom. Auditioned a Bryston multi channel that was just awful.And I know Bryston makes great two channel equipment,although I dont own Bryston at the moment.