Hi John,
For the benefit of other visitors to the Axiom boards who might encounter the same problem, I'm pasting part of the content of the email answer I sent you:
"Make sure your Denon is actually in the Dolby Digital 5.1 mode (the front panel readout should show that automatically when you put on a DVD as soon as it receives the 5.1-channel bitstream from the DVD player). Make sure you go to the DVD's menu for "Setup" every time you play a DVD, and click on "Dolby Digital 5.1". If you don't do that, all you may get is stereo, which would also explain why you aren't aware of the surrounds.
Your Denon should automatically default to Dolby Digital 5.1 as long as you have a coaxial or optical digital connector from the DVD player to your Denon. Is it doing this when you play a DVD movie? If not, then you aren't getting 5.1 channel surround.
The QS8s with a good 5.1-channel Dolby Digital DVD should never be "so-so." They should not all be set to Denon's 0 dB default. Since your QS8s are at different distances from the listening arear they will have require different level settings which may be greater or less than the fronts.
The "delay" is normally correctly set when you dial in the distances of the surrounds from your listening area.
Get the Sound&Vision Home Theater Tune-Up DVD (about $18 at Amazon or other sources) as well as the Radio Shack analog Sound Level Meter at a Radio Shack store. Using those two tools, carefully go through the setup procedure and level adjustments.
Although the QS8S shouldn't draw attention to themselves as distinct sources of sound, you should nevertheless be enveloped with ambient effects or direct sounds (planes or helicopters approaching, bullets fired or richocheting, etc.).
The QS8s are spectacular (if the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is well done) when properly adjusted. (Lots of movies, by the way, have mediocre soundtracks or make little use of the surrounds, especially lower-budget movies.) But movies like "The Bourne Identity"; The Italian Job, Saving Pvt. Ryan; Pearl Harbor; The Recruit; etc. all make wonderful use of surround and ambient effects.)"
Regards,
