How can you not have multichannel system

I remember when the 'Luddites' were stuck on monophonic, and said that stereo was a plot to make us buy more speakers. I like full (5 channel) multichannel, but I can see that for some people and music types the surround (rear) channels are non-essential. However, in the front you need three channels. This has been known since the earliest days of stereo.

Tried it, prefer two channel.
Not everyone is the same, and I'm thankful for that!

Isn't a two channel system multi-channel?

In the world of hi-fi, stereo is considered the basic sound setup, and from there up, it is multichannel. As a rough analogy, when the automobile was invented it was first referred to as a horseless carriage, in deference to the then basic form of transportation, the obvious horse-drawn carriage. Now, the automobile is the base form of transportation, and succeeding forms of transportation are the airplane, spaceship and the like. No one makes reference to horse-drawn carriages although they exist (see Amish communities) as no one truly uses monophonic hi-fi systems. Hence, stereophonic is not multichannel.

Tvad, you are correct and I am not advocating shoe horning multichannel system into spatially restricted rooms.