Magnetar

The surround channels are less important, mainly for ambience and movie effects like helicopters flying, so one could justify using a lesser chip in those channels, but it seems chintzy to do so, especially considering that this is not a budget player 

With the growth of mult-channel streaming perhaps it might be time to reconsider the notion of surround sound as only a home theater sound effects concept going forward?

Perhaps.

I listen primarily to Classical.  Most labels that specialize in multichannel use surrounds for ambience.  The rears try to emulate the reflections that one might experience in the concert hall from walls, seats and ceiling behind the listener.  There is at least one German based label-Tacet- that says the heck with that, and plunks the listener in the middle of the orchestra or chamber ensemble.  For a Tacet disc, I would want the same chip in all channels 

^ I don’t know where the future is going. Time will tell.