Speaker position now driven by video, not audio, let's face it...

[Sonik Wiz]

Other stuff simply comes across so chopped up, I wonder if I shouldn't just listen in stereo to get the best of it. But I'm usually too lazy to get up and walk the 7 feet to make that happen, and I have a hard time while in my listening room just hearing stereo, regardless. I feel kind of like my room is partially void and my backside is naked.

You might try the (usually ignored) Hall mode on the QSD-1. It is un-processed stereo in the front chs & nice indirect ambience from the rears. Usually for stereo I preferred the QS Synthesizer , but the Hall mode is a nice choice between bare naked stereo & enveloping surround.

Taking the initiative to get up and push the button is another matter...

As I said earlier my set up sweet spot is Exhibit A, but with a couch directly between the rear speakers I can also do "B" for casual listening. It gives a very wide 180 deg soundfield but no real surround coming from behind. On my PC work station about 5' behind the couch I have two, 6.5" two way speakers, decent quality. At times I have hooked them up very simply to the main rear ch speakers in the well known L-R and R-L design. It does a surprisingly good job of filling in depth when sitting on the couch. But the front soundstage is still noticeably contracted.

 

[MTB Vince]

Same here! It is literally my goal in the next 3 months. Apparently what we hear is mostly the room.

Unless you are running highly directional full-range horn loaded loudspeakers (with a narrow radiation pattern) or run a nearfield listening set-up sited in the center of a VERY LARGE room, then strong boundary reflections will inevitably play a huge part in what arrives at your ears in a domestic listening space. Effective targeted broadband room treatments (BEWARE! There is a ton of cheap commercially sold crap out there that is neither broadband nor efficient in it's absorptive or diffusive action.) are the key to removing the negative influence your room's acoustics will inevitably manifest. Get it right and the sound quality improvements are paradigm changing...

 

[barfle]

Wow I've never felt more bad about having no acoustic treatment or not having equivalent speakers until now.
New summer project, I guess!

The real question is who you’re trying to impress. I’m probably the pickiest one of all the people I know, so they’re easily impressed. I just want to enjoy what’s being played in my room, and pretty much, I do.