Can even a Novice hear differences in Sound Qualit

I always try to get feedback from someone who is not in the hobby when making or contemplating a change. Since they are not "invested" (literally and figuratively) in the outcome, their assessment may have the advantage of a certain objectivity, even if it has the disadvantage of being less discriminating. (FWIW, I feel similarly about tasting wine; "novices" often catch the differences worth catching.)

John

It comes down to most people don't care. They have grown up in a MP3 compressed digital world and don't know what good sound is all about. I have "experienced" ears and can pick out the details and "little" things that makes this hobby so engaging (at least to me). My wife just shakes her head but can also notice the upgrades even though my upgrades are never cash netural. I will always search for the best two channel sound until the day I die.

So, are you talking about the preference of multi-channel 24/96 DVD-A vs. SACD?

All great responses. Buconero117 hit the nail right on the head, Older Folk are fighting a drop off in hearing ability that makes it harder to appreciate 'difference'. All true, except despite this, and being ignorant of the equipment he was listening to, he immediately knew that it was the recording, and not the equipment. Most people don't care, he didn't used to, now he does because he has a verifiable, and measurable awareness of everything that has been missing from current Digital Recordings. He never shuts up, telling his freinds and neighbors about the unusually good sounding Digital Recording that he has heard. He has had an epithany, an awakening, an awareness of just how bad current Digital Recordings really are. He couldn't possibly go back to MP3, and enjoy it, knowing that there is something out there that is a magnitude better in sound quality. It will eat him alive. Most people don't care, because they only hear a slight improvement with 2-Channel SACD/DVD-Audio, it simply isn't enough to push them over the edge.
As far as Multi-Channel vs. 2-Channel, this is still a two Channel Downmix. Two Channel Analog still does a good job of carrying the Harmonic Content of the Music. Two Channel Digital has never been able to do the same. We are not trying to reproduce 4 distinct channels here, what we are trying to do is to utilize the extra channels to carry the Harmonic Content that is missing out of the 2-channel Digital. Harmonic Content that would normally be there if this were a 2-channel Analog Recording instead of Digital. Recombining the Harmonic Content with the two main channels by Downmixing, puts us right back to approximating something resembling 2-channel Analog. Lacking the pops and ticks, might be something to sweeten the pot. If Downmixing, the end result is still going to be 2-channel regardless, not requiring extra Speakers and Amplifiers.
The preference that I am talking about, isn't multi-channel 24/96 DVD-A per se, but multi-channel 24/96 DVD-A Downmixed to 2-channels. The Harmonic Content needs to be recombined with the original signal in the Main Channels to overcome Digitals lack of Harmonic Content. Downmix could be used for Music, non-downmix multi-channel could be used for Movies with Surround Sound Audio effects. I am not sure about multi-channel SACD Surround Sound, the point would be extra channels of Harmonic Content Downmixed with Main Channels for Digital Music, Separate Multi-channels for Surround Sound in Movies. If you want the Multi-channel Surround Soundtracks for Movies in SACD, so be it.
" Why don't they make all of them sound as good "? doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care, it sounds like someone who 'used' to not care. Not caring is no longer written in stone, if it ever was I am certainly starting to see the cracks!
Lets try to keep our conversations out of the gutter, "out of the mouths of Babes" is just a figure of speech, it doesn't mean that I find my friend a Babe. Our Sound Quality is already in the Gutter, I am not going to allow my conversation to be dragged there as well!

One last response. Dgarretson, everything you say may be true, but you make it all sound like its stagnate and non-transitory. People do have epithanies, radical changes in opinions and awareness, something that comes along that violently rocks our psychological boat. A slap in the face, a bucket of water, something that rocks us out of our complacency. We all psychologically respond to these inputs. Hearing something for the first time that sounds radically better than anything we have ever heard before, can certainly flip our Paradyne Boat upside down. I have seen it happen, people will respond to radical psychological overload of input, they can't help it- they would have to be almost inhuman not to respond!