The reason Yamaha DSP is generally considered superior is because during the mid 80s they sent teams of technicians to the major venues in Europe, US, Japan and meaured the reflections, reverb--sonic ambience of principle concert halls, jazz clubs and cathedrals. At one time they listed the names, size, number of seats, and reflective wall material of different rooms hence the many options. Movie surround came later and I don't know how they arrived at this but personally find it too busy and a distraction though find a center speaker helpful.
What I prefer for classical music is the Yamaha front Presense feature, a specific providing the EARLY REFLECTIONS that places me in a"room"without connecting my rear speakers, and I've wondered if this is why they offer the choice of either Presense or rear speakers. Japanese rooms are mostly quite small, no room for 5.1 let alone 7.1.
Despite the above opinions, I'm delighted with the advent of DSP for the two things I wanted in my early days were an ambient room and a remote control though I didn't know either would ever exist. What I've learned is that it's the music that counts, not the equipment. I love it no more today than I did years ago with my primative equip, the pleasure is exactly the same.
Chuck
