I've played the 1812 Overture SACD through my BeoSystem 4. You actually change the setting so that the LFE channel is used for height via speakers set at the "ceiling" role. There is a warning on the SACD to play it with the volume lower than usual until you hear just how loud the canons are shooting overhead!

I've heard multichannel music at various times, the potential is definitely there, the problem, as with the original quadrophonic, is getting source material. I have a CD of the music from Blade Runner, by Vangelis, recorded only in Dolby Pro Logic, not even Dolby Digital, just simple Pro Logic, and on a decent surround 5.1 system it sounds just jaw droppingly stunning. I had at one time a demo DVD-A disc, full 5.1 digital, which included some Diana Krall and Donald Fagen stuff that would just send chills down your spine, the Krall especially was like you were there in the venue with her.

Back in the day Yamaha was really into pushing multi-channel, they had a lot of processors/receivers that had very advanced surround processing to go from 2 channel to multi channel, using DSP algorithms based on measurements of real the venues. They'd take a very large array of mics into various places, jazz clubs, concert halls, etc. and measure them and use that as a basis for expanding the 2 channel audio up to 5 channels, or more, plus they had a lot of generic and user adjustable settings. Over time the number of options got less and less, I suppose no one really was using the full capability and were unwilling to pay for it. Also, I've heard these before, and all too often they were setup with the surround channels set way too high in volume, which made the whole experience more "gee wow" rather than musical and it got on your nerves quickly. Ideally you should not be aware of the surround channels, just have a feeling of more involvement and envelopment.

But then, there's a reason this goes nowhere even though good multichannel has the potential to be orders of magnitude more effective at capturing music than additional high end wires or such, it's hard to find people these days willing to even implement a proper 2 channel stereo rig. Look at the proliferation of soundbars and single point stereo speakers (new Balance for example), not many people are willing to do what's needed for truly exceptional sound, and without a base of support no one is going to record for it. It's a chicken and egg thing, no content, no thing to listen to, no one will buy multichannel rigs, so no reason to record for them.

Yes, multichannel recordings can sound very impressive through a B&O setup. My system uses BeoLab 90s as fronts, Lab 50s as rears and a Lab 10 as centre. My system is capable of playing 5.1 Blu-rays, DVD-As, DVDs, SACDs and downloads as well as quadraphonic vinyl and eight-track cartridges.

I’m trying to figure out how to shift into multichannel...

What processes and distributes the multichannel?

seethroughyou wrote:

Can multichannel be done with B&O?

Yes!

Enjoyed it at home with Sony S500 Blu-Ray and Denon 2500 Blu-Ray Transports through a Beosystem 3. Works fine and sounds good.

A VERY good recording to test it is the Blu-Ray "Quiet Winter Night" from Hoff Ensemble.

The first time I heard it was a demonstration with multiple professional GENELEC monitor speakers and it was like a live experience. It sounded  like I was right there within the church where they recorded it as the speakers where "acoucistcaly invisible" (Geoff, please correct me if I used the wrong term; I currently have no better description).
Great experience!


Another recommendation (but I don't know if they do multi channel as well): Stockfish records in Germany.
They are like scientists to achieve the highest quality recordings.

seethroughyou wrote:

Can multichannel be done with B&O?

The way to go is using a BV as sound processor. BV11 / Beosystem 4 work nice because the Homemedia app of the system can handle streaming (DLNA) multichannel files.

But also the Eclipse and Harmony will do fine. But for now you will need a media player suchs as an Oppo bluray to play multichannel music.

I use two BV with multiple BL speakers to listen to multichannel DVDA, SACD, Blurays, Streaming files (WAV, FLAC, DSD)

seethroughyou wrote:

I’m trying to figure out how to shift into multichannel...

What processes and distributes the multichannel?

I agere completely Winther Carolpa.....in fact Thatcher is Wat a Bang & Olufsen tv has been able to do nok for decades.

If you want to dive into the World of multichannel music, you can get lots of tips and inspiration here

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHccMPbwt4dG9DP7jG-8yZQ

There is plenty of music out there.

If you want to listen to something, that was intended from the start as multichannel, here you go: 

https://www.itrax.com/

The recordings of Mark Waldrep are excellent in any aspects.

Of course it is cruzial that you have a well configured multichannel/5.1 setup.

Wirh the B&O tv's/sound processors and the BL speakers - especially the later ones - you have a good starting point.

MM

Sorry....I noticed too late that 'autocorrect' was enabled on this devices ;-((

MM

If you have the time for a rabbit-hole with one expert's opinion, use your favorite internet search engine to look for "floyd toole multi-channel surround music" or similar.  I don't remember if he mentioned specific discs, but he definitely posted pictures of his own home setup.