here it is the Q's on the side wall or the M2's on the back wall. The Q's will be about 5" from the celing, that would be the side placement. My question is the 8's on the side wall or the 2's on the back wall

G, not sure that I have the full picture, but apparently you're talking about the side surrounds in a 5.1 setup. If so, the QS8s, mounted at the height you mention and preferably a couple feet farther back on the sidewall than the listening position would be advisable. For side surrounds the very wide dispersion of the QSs would make them preferable. If you were talking about also having back surround speakers in a 7.1 setup on the back wall, a case could be made for M2s instead of the QSs, but that apparently isn't your plan. Unless the back wall would be very close behind the listening position side surrounds shouldn't be mounted there, because they're primarily for side, rather than back effects.

Gieseman, there really would not be an "OR", you either have a 5.1 setup with "side" surrounds, or a 7.1 setup with both "side" and "rears". For 5.1 you normally would not want to put them on the rear wall, as the side surrounds are intended to be heard from the "side" of the listening position.

I have a 7.1 system, I have a pair of adp-190's on the side now and a pair of old bookshelf speakers on the back wall. I was think with the placement so close to the celing it might sound bad. If you guys think it is ok I will move the adp's to the back and run the Q's on the side

5.1 side surrounds are best placed to the side of the listening position as stated by John and Randy.

John, that is the first I have heard a few feet back is 'preferable' to directly to the side (and 2'-3' above ear level when seated), even for QS8's.
Dolby surround speaker placement recommendation

As stated, a case for M22's over QS8's, would only possibly be for back (7.1) speaker placement if you back wall is very far back and you do not want to ceiling mount QS8's a few feet behind the listening position. (maybe 3'-7' back, depending on your room). I had this exact discussion over many posts because my back is 16' behind my listening position. For my back 7.1 speakers, I ultimately decided on ceiling mounting QS8's 5'-7' behind the listening position.*

Much discussion has been done about direct firing vs. radiant firing (QS8) for 5.1 sides. The overwhelming conclusion is most find the radiant firing QS8 to be much more enveloping. The direct firing speakers sound like they are coming from two distinct points, instead of dispersed all around you.

* (My speakers will arrive in 5 days. I will experiment with exactly how far back on the ceiling to mount the 7.1 backs)

EDIT: I type too slow (or think too slow;o). Alan Lloft says 2" is fine for the Q's, but tilting them to give a little more space, is even better. So, yes, 5" clearance for top of QS8's is very good. When people use the Axiom FMB ceiling mount brackets, as many do, they leave about 2" top clearance, so 5" is even better.

What are your room dimensions?
Dist of list. pos. to front speakers?
Dist of list. pos. to back wall?
Dist of list. pos. to each side speaker?

Off hand, I'd think you'd want the QS8s for the surround channel (side) and the M2 for the rear channels.

More films/games utilize 5 channels, with fewer mixed for 7. (even tho your receiver can usually throw your backs a bone on 5 channel sound) Given that, I think the Qs8s are better surround workhorses, especially if most of your material is 5 channel.

Hey I will order the QS8 and put them on the side and move my adp-190 to the back. I do agree with the sound decoding, I have a Rotel per/pro and I think it does good job. But their are not a lot of film in 7.1 yet.

that should work great with your Rotels, awesome equipment.

Hey thanks, and I just got off the phone with Brent and the QS8's will be headed to my house. I can't wait.

The QS8s are awesome Gieseman, congrats on your purchase!

Dave(and G), since contrary to the first impression a 7.1 setup is the topic here, the side surround speakers are best placed directly to the side of the listening position. If this was a 5.1 setup without back surround speakers, it would be preferable to have the side surround speakers slightly(say 2-3')farther back than directly to the side so that they could create a little more "back" effect on their own by forming a "phantom" back center speaker when playing sound about equal in the left and right surrounds.

I should have given more info my room is 24x12x9. I built a box for one couch so I have two rows. I'm going to place the QS8 between the two rowes, that will put the QS8 about 2 foot behind the first row. I was worried that putting the QS8 that close to the celing would affect the sound, but it sounds like it will be just fine. Thanks for all the tips everyone

How far off the ground will they be, and what mount are you going to use? The come with a flush mount bracket for a wall, but Axiom also makes a ceiling bracket that tilts/swivels, although it is a bit expensive.

Mine are 7ft off the ground and do very well, I am using some DIY brackets I found at Menards. I'm considering getting the Omnimount 20.0 black ceiling mounts which also swivel and are half the price of the Axioms.

I was going to try flush mount, and they will be about 8 1/2 foot off the ground. Maybe later I will get some celing brakets and try it out, my wife loves it when spend hours tweaking the speakers lol

How far away will they be from the seating positions, if they are real close, 8.5ft might be a little high, that is why I mentioned the ability to angle down slightly with the right bracket. Mine are about 8-9 ft to the left/right of the primary seat in the front row, works pretty good.

about 7 feet from the seating, I could see how the angle could help spread the sound around. Oh and they will be about 6 feet to the back wall. Plus there is a window below where one of the QS8 will sit, that is why I put them so far up and where they sit is what I think is good for the two listening spots. My adp-190 did well there and I placed them all over until putting them there.

Gieseman.
Mounting the side Q's where you describe (mid way between 1st and 2nd row) sounds good. They are known for being pretty flexible in mounting positions. For mounting above your windows, you could consider mounting to the wall with wall mount FMB's, if you desire to tilt them (which is a very good idea in you application). That might also allow the bottom of the speaker to actually sit a little below the window edge or molding (should you desire and works in your application). Mainly though the FMB wall mounts will allow the top of your Q's to be a couple inches further away from the ceiling, which I think is preferable. Another option that gives a bit more ceiling clearance than ceiling FMB's, if you wanted to save some bucks , are Omnimount 20's which are a good option. They are ceiling mounts. Besides being less expensive, they give an inch or two more ceiling clearance than the FMB 'ceiling mount' bracket, which would probably locate them pretty close to where the 'wall mount' FMB would place the Q's in your application anyway. Also, if moving speakers inward on the ceiling a few inches is a plus in dealing with your windows, that is an option with the Omnimount 20 ceiling bracket. If you have a Radio shack near you, you can save on shipping, as you can order at RS on line and ask them to be shipped free to the RS store of your choice.

NOTE: the QS8 requires a 1/4-20 thread. The Omni 20 is 3/8", so you'd need a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter. Not sure where to get that, but Randy had a picture on another thread a while back. The Omnimount 10 (10lb rated capacity, but Omni says they are conservatively rated) is 1/4" rod and thread, which matches the Q's insert, BUT it is about 2" shorter! That makes it about the same dist. from the ceiling as the FMB ceiling brkt, but lots cheaper. Lots of options you'd need to decide on, but at least the info saves all the research on the nitty gritty details of the options.

Thanks, for all of the good ideas. I have just one window and I changed the drapes last night, and went inside the window frame. I will try that, but the celing mount is probley the way to go. Plus if it don't work out they can go in the bedroom, where I have a pair of M22's and the vp-100 and stf-1, the other pair of adp-190's are on the back wall of the bedroom system. I'm sure I will be happy with the QS8, I think Axiom builds a wonderful speaker. I'm sure one day I will have to move the 11's out and put in a pair of M80's in the theater room. Slowly I will replace my paradigms with the Axioms, just not the dsp-3200.