Hi Jfoxtrot9,

You should be okay with 4 inches of clearance for the top woofer. Although I usually advise more clearance, we have a pair in our factory listening room that are that close to the ceiling and they sound just fine.

You could use a couple of stepladders to support them and try them out at the sides and at the rear to see where they might function best. The QS8s are very forgiving.

Regards,

Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)