I currently am changing out my entire HT system. I had a Orb audio 7.1 system mod2 all the way around except for the center channel which was mod4, along with their super eight sub. Down grading to 5.1 as my couch is now against the wall.

The mains I went with are JBL L820 and Center is JBL LC2. For side surrounds I have JBL L820's as well. For subs I am building 2 DIY that will both house UXL-18's. Should be a nice change from the Orb setup.

I have always had my eye on the QS8. My side surrounds are mounted from the ceiling and down. They are 16in off the ceiling and I have 8' ceilings. The are 8ft from center listening position and a hair behind the seating spot.

I know this is a axiom forum so there is going to be some biased here, but I am looking for some honest opinions. I wanted to try and keep the same timbre all the way around with the jbl, but I have always wanted to try out the QS8. I have heard such good things about them. Would you think there would be a notable difference from my mains to the surrounds? From this mounting position would it be better to have the type of speaker such as the QS8 as opposed to the L820? Any other thoughts would be great.

The concept of timbre matching is way overstated IMO and i can't say i've even seen as many conversations about it in the past couple of years.
You "might" notice a difference between surrounds that are a markedly different design/size (e.g. a direct radiating vs. a quad design), but noticing a difference in timbre between fronts and surrounds in general?
Unlikely.

The QS8s are a fantastic surround speaker and even though i may hunt for something different for my mains, i won't be giving up my QS8s. Of a few other companies that had similar designs (bipole or quadpole), Axioms are by far much less expensive and are solid little units. Very easy to place.

I'm no expert so take this as you will, I can't remember ever thinking about the timbre of my surrounds. The 4's and 8's are incredibly good at disappearing. Truly great surrounds.

Timbre matching between the front speakers will make sense. But when you get from the back to the front, the shape of your ears effect that way that we hear anyway, so I can't say in real life that someone talking behind me ever sounded the same as someone talking infront of me.

So if in reality the timbre changes as the object you are listening to moves, then why would you care if it's not same in the movie? Your hearing can easily compensate for the pitch change, but it can't for radiant/directionality.

I have always been very disappointed by my surround speakers and how it never envelops you. I am looking forward to trying out my new QS8 as I have heard similar style speakers that blew my mind on how good they were (but could not afford). These I can and these might even be better.

For me, timbre matching across the front is important but much less so for front & rears due to the sporadic nature of surround content in movies.

My HT is all Axiom so it really isn't a factor in my room...

TAM

Thanks for all the replies. I picked a QS8 V4 black in color from the be stock for $541. I figured there is a 30 day trial so I will see how it sounds..I plan on watching a good amount of movies in that time.

Guess I hadn't considered matching brands, just that the QS' series hide their placement so well I didn't think timbre was to big of an issue either way.