Most of the spring clips I have seen do not like 12 gauge wire, the "hole in the faceplate" is what I do now and before this house I had 4 way speaker binding plates mounted on the wall/ceiling beside the QS8s, this wasn't as nearly a clean look as the hidden wire/plate I presently have.

Jason
M80 v2
VP160 v3
QS8 v2
PB13 Ultra
Denon 3808
Samsung 85" Q70