I have read some great reviews of these speakers so made the decision today and ordered a pair for my rear channels.

Primarily for HT use, I have been listening to a 3.1 setup for the past 6 months: Denon 990 AVR, Chase SHO-10 LCR, and Outlaw LFM-1 Plus Sub.

I hope all these great reviews havent set my expectations too high. Can't wait to get some surround setup.

Congrats ... I bet you'll be very impressed!

Grats!! I'm confident you will not be disappointed. There never seems to ever be any controversy around the QS8s but be sure to let us know what you think.

What gauge wire would you recommend for rear speakers? Is 12 needed or would 16 or 18 work fine?

My favorite bang/buck is 14 gauge. 18 is pretty thin. I've used 12 and 14 in the past, both without issues.

Others will chime in that you should use 12 gauge. And if the price is close to 14 gauge, and the wire is flexible enough to meet your installation needs, then by all means, go for 12 gauge and never look back wondering if you should have gotten a little bit better wire gauge.

Also, don't buy into the hype of expensive speaker wire. Good old "lamp cord" from Home Depot, Lowes, etc works just fine as well and is pretty cheap. Just make sure that it is the gauge that you want.

12-14 is fine...I've used 14 with no issues for years.

The others are probably correct, but you should be asked: "How long a run to said speakers?"

Appreciate the advice. Went with 14...running the wire about 25 feet for each.

You have to be using a lot of power over a pretty long run for 12 to be necessary.

I also just picked up a pair of these through the auction. Question, if you used the supplied T brackets for install, did you have to use studs or can anchors hold these babies?

I have mine in anchors. So far, I only destroyed one of them.

But that's just because I didn't get it ON the T bracket. The bracket itself stayed in the wall just fine.

You should really enjoy your new Q's. I've heard the QS4's (in an appropriate smaller room) and they are quite engaging in 6.1 and certainly HT.

Clay, welcome. Congrats on getting the QS8s; you're highly unlikely to be disappointed. As to installation, in general mount them on the side walls about 3' above ear level and slightly(maybe 2')farther back than directly to the side of the listening position. This helps add a little phantom back surround effect in the absence of actual 7.1 back surround speakers.

Don't forget to make full use of your new setup by using DPLII or similar processing on 2-channel material. This takes the natural surround ambience that was picked up by the microphones and then mixed into the front channels(there was no place else to put it), extracts it, and sends it to the surrounds where it belongs, making music listening significantly more realistic and enjoyable.

Welcome Clay, One point, you mention "rear" channels, when in fact they should be placed on the sides of the room if possible as side surrounds for 5.1. In 7.1 the rear channels go on the back wall.

Ah...they have arrived...now just need to wait patiently to get off work.

Based on the advice, will be mounting as side surrounds rather than rear position...still trying to figure out how to drop the wire for one speaker that is on an exterior wall and filled with insulation...not much fun.

Love my QS8's! Finally some bass from the rears and super clear like the rest of the Axiom line-up.

I have mine as the rear surrounds on a 5.1 setup. Should they be on the side walls?

Jeff, regardless of where the surrounds in a 5.1 setup are placed, they're side surrounds and play the material in those channels, not the material in the back surround channels of a 7.1 receiver. They should be placed primarily to the side of the listening position, although being maybe 2' or so farther back than directly to the side can help add a little "phantom" back surround effect in the absence of back surround 7.1 speakers. Note that if the listening position is almost up against the wall, mounting the side surrounds on the back wall but spread widely, almost to the side walls, produces a similar effect.

I have a 7.1 receiver so two more QS8's would work? But not all soundtracks are 7.1? How can you tell?

The soundtracks don't necessarily have to be 7.1 for a 7.1 setup to be effective. Your receiver, using DPLIIx processing, extracts material from the side surround channels of 5.1 material(or somewhat less effectively, the front channels of 2-channel material)which would be effective when imaged in back(though maybe not as effective as actual 7.1 source material)and sends it to the back surround speakers.

The question as to whether 7.1 is a significant improvement over 5.1 depends not on room size as such, but rather if there's enough space, say at least 4', behind the listening position for a rear sound field to form. If the listening position is almost up against the wall the effect might not be especially useful.