Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Time for the move to 7.1? Need to pick surrounds.

Possibly Q's on the sides and bookshelf in the rear, but not the other way around. Ideally, Q's all the way around is best. But, I guess you are the one that has to be satisfied.

Because of how close the columns are to the seating area, especially your left one, the QS8's really will perform better than bookshelf speakers.

I tested both in just such a scenario and it wasn't much of a contest. You can always get M2/3's and test for yourself, and then use them for the back, but with your layout you'll get the best surround sound from QS8's all around. Whether or not that is worth the extra $ is up to you, but once I heard QS8's all around in my room there was no going back.

I'll take the QS8's down and try them again on the columns and see how it goes. I may go for a pair of QS4s as they are a bit smaller but still the same depth. I totally agree on paper that would be the way to go, although I don't need people bumping their heads on them as they walk by. I'm trying to find some other thinnner options from other speaker manufacturers as well.

IMHO, it's not just theory on paper that says the QS's are good on the side, it truly does bear itself out in real world listening and comparisons.

I wouldn't bother trying the QS8's on the columns again. If you've tried them there before and didn't like it then it's not likely to sound any better this time around, mainly because you'd still be missing two back speakers. My vote for QS's on the columns was assuming you had two surround back speakers as well, now THAT would be a worthwhile test for you to do.

Bumping of heads and other mitigating factors are another thing. We all need to work with what we have, so if QS8's protrude out too much then you would need to look at the smaller QS4 or other in/on wall models instead.