In reply to:
I personally use my Qs8's for DVD-A and it sounds fantastic, so do not think you have to have direct radiating surrounds for DVD-A/SACD. It is more of a preference, but I promise you the QS8's will not disappoint.
According to conventional wisdom, surrounds in a 5.1 or 6.1 setup should be bi/di/quad pole speakers mounted high and to the sides of the listening position in order to envelop the listener in a non-directional soundfield. Multichannel audio is mastered using 5 identical speakers, with the surrounds being at ear level and slightly behind the listener (+/- 120 degrees). While it is impractical to have 5 M60's for DVD-A and SACD listening, it is practical to have QS4's or 8's mounted high and to the sides for movies, and a pair of direct radiating speakers, say M2's, mounted low and behind for multichannel audio.
I have tried it both ways, and there is no comparison. Listening to multichannel sources with the surrounds as I have suggested above sounds much better to my ears than when I had the surround channels going to my QS4's. If you are serious about multichannel sound, I would go with a 7.1 setup as I have described. Make sure that your receiver/processor has a full set of 7.1 inputs. Since 7.1 uses mono information for the rear channels, sometimes "7.1" receivers/preamps only have 6.1 pre-ins.
Mark
