Having the M5OWs as the rear surrounds is a sound improvement over the QS10s in my room. I went through several movies last night and having the monopole speakers firing right at the listening position was a major boost in directional sound. In all fairness the QS10s don't have the optimal set up in my room because the walls aren't up and there is nothing for the sound to reflect off of. I should have an opportunity to hook them up as rears this weekend.
Some people have reported liking the monopoles better than a diffuse sound. Those hyped on Atmos trying to follow the prescripted format would have to do so. Unfortunately for our situation, the back surrounds would sit within 20" of seated locations so a direct firing speaker would not work well in this setup. Our side surrounds could possibly work better except one side wall is not perpendicular to the back wall (it angles out) so unless i had some kind of on-wall shim block to reset the angle, a monopole would not fire towards the seating area but rather 45 degree into the middle of the room.
I like the fact that the QS10s have that direct driver out front which the QS8s do not.
It will be something to consider when we get QS10s and decide to replace or keep QS8s or replace them with QS10s.
Some sound tests will be in order at that time.
