Multi channel much better than stereo?

Urban I will be adding the ML CLS to my collection, My Aerius 's will have a new home, to the rear channels and my paradigms will vacate the rear and go to the sides, until I purchase the scripts for the sides. going for the 7.1 surround. I understand what your saying with martins all around, and I don't disagree, I sure they sound great. But believe me when I tell you, the 2channel sound with martin logans will surpass the 5.1 setup with the correct 2ch pre and amp combo. Hell I do love my Martins in surround mode, but since listening to the bat pre/bat amp in 2ch on the aerius i, I reached a new level in 2ch which in my IMO surpass the 5.1 setup. My wife approved of me spending the extra $2,000 to get the pre, so she agreed which is not easy. There are some nice pre's/amps combo's that really can make ML shine in 2ch mode. Good luck. Pete

I have lexicon mc1 and with this and other processors i have owened i have noticed IMHO that they are best used for ht. The lexicon IMHO is the best in HT. There are better prosessors for music but i think music sounds better in 2 ch. even with dvd video music. when i go from multichannel to stereo it sounds more dynamic. Multichannel sounds compressed compared to stereo. I think processors are suited for HT. That why i chose lexicon. Now all i need is a good tube preamp with pass thru to processor to mate with Aloia amp.

Pete,
What type of music do you listen too, normally. Also I value your oppinion in these matters and would love to hear your system. Just curious, did you audition the Proceed AVP before buying the Lexicon ? I will concede after many more hours of listening that I can't decide what I like better, stereo surround or stereo in my set up right now, but again I'm going by memory because as I have said I don't have ML for surround right now but remember how good it was before. Also, I know what it is I liked about my old system, I sat 12' away from each speaker and I think this is one of the most important aspects to a correctly set up 5.1 system. Most systems (5.1)I have listened to don't have them hooked up this way because of room/show room constraints. Yah I know the processors take this into account when you set your speaker distances, but it is just not the same. I guess what I'm trying to say is the room treatments and dimensions are so often overlooked in this hobby, instead people are spending money on cables and wires, which help don't get me wrong, but do very little in comparison to having spent your time,money and energy in building the right room. Anyway, I too, am planning on the ML cls's bi-amped for the front putting the Aerius's back in the rear.
Thank-you Pete, and everyone for their continued input.
Urban

Yes I did hear the proceed and I do not recall much about it. A friend of mine has both a DC-1 and a proceed avp. He said the dc-1 was better for ht and the proceed is better on music. But he said the ultimate was 2 separate systems. Which I'm doing by adding a tube pre amp and using the by-pass loop. For music I listen to everything under the sun, except for country and rap. Sorry abit short tonight, I'm on my way out the door. Urban go out and bring some of that 2ch stuff home to try. You got great speakers. Pete