Growing up with the DJ/Rave experience, after being primarily interested in MUSIC, not HOME THEATER, I basically have a stereo bias and have no interest in surround-sound formats or multichannel (beyond 2) playback.
I realize that this comment serves no purpose in this discussion, other than as a point of reference for a steady community that has never gone away: that which uses hi-fi playback for stereo music. The soundfield is immersive enough with stereo, and as sound has an inherent latency somewhere around 3ms/meter in 20 degree C air, I find that any large surround-sound setups are incapable of cleanly reproducing events like beats. Dialogue gets blurred, etc.
I realize that this comment serves no purpose in this discussion, other than as a point of reference for a steady community that has never gone away: that which uses hi-fi playback for stereo music. The soundfield is immersive enough with stereo, and as sound has an inherent latency somewhere around 3ms/meter in 20 degree C air, I find that any large surround-sound setups are incapable of cleanly reproducing events like beats. Dialogue gets blurred, etc.