Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners QS8 Placement? Backwall or sidewall?

Hello Axiom Owners,

I have recently moved to a new home and want the best suggestion for placement of the QS8.

Assuming the ideal acoustic environment in a 5.1 setup.
1. Should the speakers be placed on the side walls per Dolby Digital specs?
2. Because the speakers are quadpolar should it be placed BEHIND the listening area on the back wall.

Any suggestion will help...thanks

To the side is still the recommended position for surrounds in a 5.1 setup, with the area behind the seating still being reserved for rear surrounds if you go to 7.1. Some people put the surrounds behind the seating area and are happy, but it's usually only suggested if there isn't a good place to mount the QS8s on the side.

CV is right. Sidewall for 5.1, sidewall and backwall for 7.1.

Do you have a good position on the side wall slightly behind the listening position? Some people have placed the QS surrounds to the rear when side positioning was difficult.

This is a good place to start and tweak it till YOU like the sound as each room and personal preference is different.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html

Side wall for 5.1 and slightly behind the seating area to give you a little rear sound affects, as you said using Dolby specs.

I have my QS4s a few feet behind the seating position on the side walls and they work great in this position.

Stan, you didn't provide a key measurement: how far behind the listening position is the back wall? In a 5.1 setup the side surround speakers should generally be placed on the side walls a little(maybe 2-3')farther back than directly to the side, to lend a little "phantom" back effect in the absence of 7.1 back speakers. If the back wall is close to the listening position(say not more than about 3')then putting the QSs on the back wall widely spread almost to the side walls is very little different from a side wall mounting almost at the back wall.

What about height in relation to main listening / viewing position? Is it best to place at ear level or above ear level (maybe 2 feet above)?

2-4 ft above ear level is usually good, taking into account the ceiling height(you don't want the top woofer firing against a low ceiling!)