Wanna take it to the next level? Buy MORE speakers!

when I am in doubt, I always bring a 100 musician-orchestra into my living room for blind testing. They are imaging almost as well as my Avantgardes.

Since you make a reference to the "essence" of the musical performance, visit some grand acoustic space nearby where you live and check out an orchestra, wind ensemble, etc.

For example, there is one near where i live.... Yes of course, the orchestra’s performing in front of me, but, there’s sound coming from behind me, in front of me, above me, to either side, etc...it’s a dome...makes ya wonder how the essence of it can be like that because it doesn’t sound much like stereo at all.

@deep_333

the whole idea of musical essence relates to rendering the particular acoustic of the recording venue as related by the recording and mastering process. not every recording and mastering process fully relates all that information. but each recording ought to be distinctly different, and the better the reproduction system and the more accurate and complete it is, the closer it can render the original according to the media.

so the idea of rear hall seating, compared to close up, or even rear balcony, should be part of the ambient information on the 2 channel recording......if the system is up to it.

certainly in theory a multi-channel recording can better relate some of this, but it’s typically a fine mess since it’s digital and processed. and it’s rare rare that it’s done right, and that the multi-channel playback is up to the task.

i will easily throw 1000 of my vinyl records at the typical surround sound effort and get more back in musical essence. much more. my source has more meat on the bones with an analog source, and it gets everything dead solid perfect. not a mess.

come on over to my house; i will play a live to 2 track master dub of a live jazz club recording that will recreate the whole envelope of that jazz club leagues better than the best multi-channel recording. you can cut the ambience retrieval with a knife, and the realism of the music is way beyond what any digital can even think of.

which is TRUE Next Level.

note that part of the issue here is that the best music was recorded by the best artists and the best recording engineers with the best simplest tools.....which means the Golden Age 1955-1980. so this great best ever music is all 2 channel. it’s very hard for current artists and recording processes to compete with the purity of those times. almost impossible. and i listen to and enjoy plenty of contemporarily recorded music, so i respect there is lots of good stuff being put out today.....but....it is not up to the standards of the Golden Age even at it's best. 

My $$$ is on @mikelavigne 

“certainly in theory a multi-channel recording can better relate some of this, but it’s typically a fine mess since it’s digital and processed. and it’s rare rare that it’s done right, and that the multi-channel playback is up to the task..”
+1 ​​​​@mikelavigne 

Been there with Krell 707 Multi-channel Processor /Evolution Amps plus B&W 800 series 7.2 System. My current 2-ch system handily smokes that speakers and multi-amp monstrosity. 

A mere two speakers has inherent issues and limitations. But so far, to my ears, it’s hard to get multi-channel to sound as good on music. I’ve tried up-mixing 2 channel recordings to a 3 channel with derived center using various methods because I always hear a tonal issue with the phantom center caused by interaural crosstalk. But my best efforts have introduced issues of their own. I can improve the center with more speakers, but only at the expense of the rest of the sound field. Or, the center no longer seems to fit in with the rest of the sound field quite naturally enough. Better to just use two speakers and experiment with the speaker placement and room treatments to optimize the results to your preference. Optimal gear matters too. I’m not sure about digital doing something bad that analog gets right, but I’ll take Mike’s word for that because he has an optimized analog system and I don’t.

For video games, surround sound is awesome! I can definitely hear with greater precision which direction things are coming from in the game with more speakers. For movies it can work too, but I’m not into that. The screen is only in front of me and I don’t have control of the camera like I do in a video game, so I prefer to have the sounds stay in the front too. A center channel can be good for vocals in movies, but that mostly matters for people sitting off center. My guests all couldn’t care less. As long as they can hear the words they’re good.

My nephew is one exception. He seems to notice the imaging and pay attention to the sound field. He tells me the "surround sound" is amazing, even though it's just 2 channel stereo.