Lazarus-
You have a very sweet setup. I'm not sure everyone going the 2 channel route is saying "don't bother with multichannel"--or at least I didn't. If movies or SACD are your raison d'etre, or at least you get a big and continuing kick out of surround sound, by all means go to multichannel. I just wanted to say don't do it because you think it is the natural evolution of a system or inherently better. It is just different.
I had a good multichannel rig. CinemaSystems not withstanding, I think (and a lot of other people thought) the Casablanca was right up there in terms of high end multichannel. I went through several different kinds of amp and speaker combinations (I'm inclined to agree w/CinemaSystems that electrostats/hybrids are not the way to go) and I'm pretty sure I know what good multichannel sounds like. And, I did get a kick out of the whole surround thing.
[confession]I never did multichannel audio, largely due to my own obstinate nature. I think I was refusing to buy SACDs after having bought the album on vinyl, the album on CD, and the remastered album on CD. Paying for the same tunes the fourth time around seemed to break the camel's back.[/confession]
But, I took a look at my life and decided the calculus was wrong *FOR ME*. Multichannel is a *lot* harder to get right than stereo. Multichannel requires a lot more gear to be done right. Multichannel takes up more space on your rack and in your room. And, I found that while I did enjoy it, I didn't enjoy it enough. I think I ultimately decided that I'd spent a lot of money and made a lot of other compromises in terms of aesthetics and convenience--which weren't really justified--based on a perception that multichannel was a natural system evolution or somehow "better."
I am certainly not saying that other's balancing can't come out different. But, I'm offering up my $0.02 that you should, before jumping in, consider how much use its going to get, how much it means to you, and fully consider the financial/technical/aesthetic consequences. Maybe you have a seven digit checking account and the financial impact doesn't matter one whit. Maybe if you don't share my sparse decorating aesthetic, the incursions of HT won't bother you as much. Maybe if you have lots and lots of room, giving up living space isn't as much of an issue. Maybe if you aren't as lazy as me and actually get off your a** and turn on the tube amps for the surrounds you would enhance your enjoyment. Maybe if you don't lie down on the sofa to watch movies the surround has more impact. etc.
Frankly, I've still got my Casablanca. I'm building a weekend home, and probably will put a multichannel system in there, because the balancing in that environment is different. I will probably do things slightly differently, because it will be a dedicated HT setup--probably go solid state and err some on the side of convenience over absolute sound. Right now, however--even having experienced the glories of full blown multichannel HT in the living room--I'm happy as can be with a stereo that just does PCM really well.
Back to reality time. Trying to now figure out the aesthetics of dropping a 14U acoustic rack enclosure in my study. *sigh*
