Embodiments of a method and an apparatus for detecting multiple complex-valued symbols belonging to discrete constellations. The method and apparatus is a detector that finds a closest vector, or a close approximation of it, to a received vector. The disclosure also gets (optimally, in case of two transmit sources) or closely approximates (for more than two transmit sources) the most likely sequences required for an optimal bit or symbol a-posteriori probability computation. Also part of the present disclosure is represented by Also embodiments of a method and an apparatus to determine a near-optimal ordering algorithms for the aforementioned purpose. The method and apparatus achieves optimal performance for two transmit antennas and achieves near-optimal performance for a higher number of antennas, with a lower complexity as compared to a maximum-likelihood detection method and apparatus. The method and apparatus are suitable for highly parallel hardware architectures.