Spherical microphone and loudspeaker arrays have been widely studied for the acquisition of spatial sound-field information. Recently, a theoretical framework, based on systems that combine both arrays, was presented for the spatial analysis of enclosed sound fields. Such systems are referred to as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and they provide means for an enhanced spatial analysis. However, their performance is limited by errors due to spatial sampling and system model mismatch. The effects of these errors on the system performance were studied recently in theory, without experimental validation. Therefore, the practical usefulness of MIMO systems for roomacoustics analysis has yet to be determined. This paper presents an initial investigation in this direction. MIMO system performance and limitations are first evaluated in a simulation study. The system is then studied experimentally, through the analysis of room impulse responses (RIRs). Experimental validation is achieved in several aspects. First, system properties are studied and compared to previous theoretical results. Then, MIMO processing methods are applied for a spatial analysis of early reflections in the RIR, showing that early room reflections can be identified experimentally. The results of this investigation suggest that MIMO systems can be employed in practice for various applications of room acoustics.