So, I'm in the process of upgrading my current HT setup. On tap is a new Onkyo tx-nr5009 and I'm thinking about going to a 9.1 setup. So far, I have M80s for the front, vp 180 center, and qs8s for side surrounds with 2 more qs8s on order for the rear. So the question I pose to you is two fold -

1) Should I go with heights or wides?
2) Which speakers should I use for the height/wide channels?

Oh, and hopefully, I'll be buying an ep500 soon, too....unless you have better recommendations for a sub around the same price range.

Thanks for the help!!

What you have will rock your world, but if you do decide to get front wide speakers, many have raved about more Q's. How big is your room?

Is anyone else thrown off by them being called heights and wides instead of highs and wides or heights and widths?

My basement is approximately 20'x24.4'x7'4".

It a little frustrating the Two most common standards, audyssey and Dolby have different recommendations for speaker placement in a 9.1 system. I was hoping that a well placed set of QS8s would be able to satisfy both configurations, but from what I've been reading, the recommendation is to go with bipolars(Quadpolars) for the side and rear surround channels but direct radiating speakers for the highs/width channels.

Decisions, decisions.....

Sean, welcome(can always use another Sean). The width speakers extend the material mostly played by the mains farther out, and it would be logical to use direct radiating speakers there for more precise placement of sound images.

The height speakers work with material of a more diffuse nature, and wide dispersion rather than the most precise imaging is the most helpful attribute, which would suggest using QSs.

I have both Height and Width speakers and now almost exclusively use only the Width speakers. Based on several factors I think you will also, even more than me, benefit from Width over Height speakers.

First is the size and shape of your room. You have a low ceiling (mine is vaulted so I get more ambiance from the Height speakers than you will and I still prefer the Width speakers). Your room is both long and wide making it more likely Width speakers will spread out the front soundstage giving you an even more immersive 360 degree soundstage. I’ve tried both M2s and M22s as Width speakers for my 3 M80s and found no difference so the less expensive M2s, especially compared to the QS8s will work just fine and because of their small size they are easy to wall mount if you don’t want to clutter up your floor.

If you did choose to use Height speakers your low ceiling would almost necessitate a QS8 type speaker to sufficiently spread out the sound. Also Width speakers come into play in almost every scene whereas the Height speakers only produce sound when ambiance (things like rain, wind, echoes, some music) are playing in the mains.