Hi EastCoast,
I have a 4,200 ft^3 room with two side and two rear QS8s. I sit about 13 feet away from the sides and 11 feet away from each rear. The rears are about 9 feet apart. The bottom of each QS8 is 2 feet above my head. My sides are about 4 feet ahead of me. I sit 14 feet away from my M80v2 and 160v4.
I used to have a Denon circa 2002. I was not getting much out of the QS8s under calibrated settings. When I bumped up the surround gain, it didn't sound right. This was also the time when I had my room arranged differently and the side QS8s were slightly behind me.
Fast forward to 2013 when I bought my Onkyo. With the combination of XT32 and better decoding, the side QS8s came alive.
Then in late 2016, I re-arranged my room to the layout I described initially. Wow! I now have what I consider to be fantastic sound for movies and PLII music. I have a very wide soundstage with very focused instrument and vocal placement. The recent upgrade from my 600v2 to the EP800v4 has brought my system over the top with deep, clean, tight bass.
My side QS8s, with their forward placement, contribute greatly to the wide soundstage I am hearing. As for my rears, they are definitely filling in the space but I would not miss them if they weren't there. Some have said I should get dipoles for the rears but I am worried that they might sound unnatural.
The only thing I feel my QS8s are lacking is bass response. The QS10s I am sure would fix that right up and I am planning on upgrading the sides. I hope this has given you some food for thought.
