Kal Rubinson has been a strong proponent of surround sound for music in his Stereophile column. My limited experience (an Arts SACD of Corelli violin sonatas played on a Cary Cinema 11a) is that surround can give a greater sense of ambience than can be achieved with stereo. I was amazed. But I wouldn't sacrifice stereo sound quality just for surround music. You can have both, but it raises the ante.
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