I did misread Johns post, i missed the "ears" part though 3' above the couch...
As far as the studs go.. Yes that is ideal, and if you look at Ken's QS8 post you will see why....
However!, i used these
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-...catalogId=10053 each one is rated for 75lbs.. I Also have a pair of B&W speakers in my bed room that are on custom made shelves that are using those dry wall anchors as well.
What size of wire are you running, you could probably run a 16 or 14 gauge and be just fine. If your running 12 then the hole will need to be a bit bigger... At my Aunt and Uncles place, the installers made a hole barley large enough for their 16gauge wire to go though, and painted the rest in...
I would just do the flush, the QS speakers have drivers all over the place.. No point in sweating the small stuff, i had my QS8's on speaker stands when i had a room that was small, and in another place, i put my QS8's on top of Arizona tea can's, the cans were unopened though as to not introduce any unwanted vibrations.
As far as your specific locations, i have lived in 4 different places since owning my Axioms/QS's, and i have never really given much though as to where i was putting them, as long as they were behind me, they did a wonderful job. John can give you more specific answers on this...
Hope this helps!
