Fooey with surround sound. I'm not buying into some gimmick to sell more (cheap) speakers. I went with the traditional 3-way floor standing stereo speakers.
I only have but 2 ears, and my living room isn't so big. CDs are only stereo, so why not? Every few years, yet another standard. Do the manufacturers of all that stuff, just think we are made of money?
I don't want to pretend that my living room is the movie theater. It's not, and I'm fine with that. The only "HD" I get on my HD 27-inch heavy tube TV full-screen, is what I snatch on its bunny ears for free. There's digital signals now in the area, but sometimes the old analog stations come in better, sometimes the digital better. Sony Playstation 2, doesn't do HD, neither do standard DVDs.
Hey, I get the big sound and deep bass, what more could I possibly need?
I think I figured out why my 12-inch woofers just don't seem to move much. Because I don't like to crank the volume up. Even with it low, I can feel the floor move, when the ship on Titanic groans under the weight of the water. I don't want to blow out my ears, nor become completely unaware of outside environmental sounds, nor so shake the house that the nails pull out of the floor?
Good speakers don't need to be loud, to sound great. They sound great soft as well.