I asked a very good friend of mine who has done extensive testing on just this question for his input. The following are his answers to your questions. This analysis is right on the money.

The discrete nature of 5.1-channel sound, where individual channels are entirely separated from one another, and mixed in that fashion, would, logically, seem to suggest the use of direct-radiating speakers such as M3's, rather than QS4's, which use a quadpolar radiation pattern. But, based on my listening tests, 'tain't true.

Think about the interior of commercial movie theaters (as well as the way sound waves behave in real life). A movie theater's sidewalls each have three or four surround speakers in addition to at least two on the rear wall of the theater. The point is to produce envelopment of the listener in the sound field as conceived and recorded by the sound
engineer and the movie's director. That's why so many surround speakers are used in a commercial theater--to immerse the audience in a diffuse field that blends with and enhances the on-screen action without diverting the viewer's attention away from the screen.

Your listening room, of course, isn't nearly as large a space as most commercial theaters; nevertheless, envelopment in the sound field is just as important in a home theater. In my experience, a multiple-radiating surround speaker of a bipolar, dipolar or quadpolar
design (such as the QS4's) is more effective at producing a sense of envelopment in domestic living rooms, dens, and dedicated home theater setups than direct-radiating speakers.

And--get this--based on my comparison tests, there is no loss of imaging specificity (i.e. specific rear-mixed directional effects) using a quadpolar radiator, even for music-only programs in DTS, Dolby Digital, DVD-Audio or SACD. If a movie effect is mixed to the right-rear channel, you'll hear it from the right rear direction. And fly-over effects
(Pearl Harbor, for example) will be just as convincing, so the same advice applies to 7.1-channel setups as well. Indeed, in a small room, I would argue that multi-polar surrounds are essential to achieving convincing surround sound. So go with the Axiom QS4's; you can experiment with the M3's on the sidewalls if you wish. If they don't call attention to themselves as sources of sound (this never should occur in a properly arranged home theater setup), then hurray, your installation is a success!


Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer


Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer