MultiChannel too complicated for most...

Well, Madhf, I wish you could give me one example of the distortion and, perhaps, a better description of it as it applies to a disc that I have. If you listen to the rear channels only, the sound is, of course, quite strange in most cases since it is a pick-up of the hall sound and a very remote pickup of the main performance.

Now, you are also pointing out the difference between two renderings of an old performance (Moody Blues), neither in MCH and, again, I question the relevance of this to a general conclusion. It is possible that you are hearing a difference in the mastering that has nothing to do with the formats.

Do you ever listen to modern recordings in any of these formats?

Kal

BTW, I think it is less that one needs to learn to listen in MCH than that one needs to unlearn thinking that 2 channel is an accurate representation of a real event. We have listened in 2 channel for so long, it has become the de facto standard for us.

Kal

To mirror the comments above, I've heard MC reproduction at CES and I wasn't particularly impressed, but my lack of satisfaction could probably be ascribed to both a horribly (un)treated hotel room and a music selection that - for me - left a great deal to be desired. That session reminded me of my old LP stereo demo records. However, I'm certainly open to another demo, should such an opportunity arise.

But, I don't necessarily agree with Kal that I need to 'unlearn' my preference for 2 channel reproduction. Living near Seattle, I have access to three outstanding jazz venues and, on numerous occasions, after enjoying a live performance at Jazz Alley, Triple Door or Tula's, I have returned home, warmed up my system and heard the same musicians perform the same music in a much more 'realistic' setting. Of course it's an illusion, and of course I'm easily suggestible (perhaps more than most), but my simple (meaning as few components as possible in the chain) system continues to sound better than what I generally experience at the clubs...excepting audience reactions and the general disturbances caused by cutlery and clinking glasses.

Moreover, while there are quite a few MC jazz or blues remasters, they represent a very, very small percentage of the artists that inhabit my library...and how many copies of Kind of Blue do I need?