Right now my QS8 were mounted 7' high with 10" clearance from the top and slightly infront of the listening position on both side of the wall. The question I have is should I place the QS8 Slightly behind my listening position instead of slightly infront my listening position for the best 5.1 effect? There is a back wall right behind my listening position.
Try out both positions and see what you like best. I ended up moving mine back alittle more from the original spot that I put them and like it better. I have mine about 1 foot from the back wall, which to my understanding is ok because the reflection off the back wall helps disperse the sound around. I read that somewhere at Audioholics.com (I think thats where) Just try it out and see.
My are also 1 foot away from the back wall. Since my couch is leaning against the wall, the speaker will touch the back wall if I moving it further back. Perhaps I can move my couch up a litte and listen to see which is a better placement back or infront.
Dolby says, and this is a quote from:
http://www.dolby.com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html#s3.2
The surround speakers should be placed alongside and slightly to the rear of (but not behind) the prime seating position; well above ear level, to help minimize localization effects; and aimed directly across the listening area, not down at the listeners. This arrangement creates a diffuse, enveloping surround soundfield throughout the listening area, like that in cinemas and in the dubbing theaters where soundtracks are mixed. If the speakers are too far forward, you won't get sufficient rearward effect, and if the speakers are too far back, there will be a loss of envelopment and integration of the surround information with the whole soundfield.
Dolby.com has a lot of various good info and is worth a look.
That Dolby info is based on a direct radiating speaker though, no? The QS series are quads. That makes a pretty bid difference. They're not nearly as position dependent as a direct radiatior, or even a bi/di-pole speaker would be.
I don't know how to do that fancy "click here" thing that some of you do, (would like to know though), but here is a link to check out for the quad design of Axiom surrounds.
http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/speaker_placement.php
"Quadpolar surrounds, similar to Bipoles, usually perform best when placed on sidewalls, but closer to the backwalls, for rear wall reflection of the side mounted tweeter. Their height should be about 4-6 feet above the seated position, but greater than 1 foot away from the ceiling to not obscure the top mounted woofer."
It doesn't mention about maybe being too rearward though..?
The FAQ link near the top of this page will explain everything.
I've even brought it down here for your convenience.
FAQ
The way to do it is to type it like this (remove the spaces) [ url = http://www.whatever.com ]your words here[ /url ].
Very true. I read somewhere that QS-8s need to be a minimum of 6 inches from the ceiling to allow room for the upper woofer to fire. Do you think the same would hold true for the back wall to allow room for the tweater?
I would say at least 12" in from the side wall.
Well, I moved the QS8 slightly behind my listen position. While watching Any Given Sunday I heard background sounds I never noticed that were there before. Maybe it was due the fact I was paying more attention to the sound, but it does sound better with the QS8 placed slight behind my listening position.
I've experimented with QS8s in a 5.1 config at the Dolby and THX-recommended approx. 90 degrees, the ITU-recommended 110 degrees, and at about 135 degrees. To my ear roughly 90 degrees works best for both music and movies. 110 isn't too bad, but more than that gives a surround gap on the sides, and a loss of envelopment (at least in my limited listening tests).
MiniRock and The One:
It's keeping the QS8's woofers away from a rear-wall/side-wall intersection that can be problematic, rather than the tweeters. The closer you move the QS8 to a corner, the more likely that upper-bass reinforcement from the two walls (plus the ceiling) will color upper bass sounds.
Somewhere in the FAQs on our site that I wrote and edited is a statement I picked up in conversation with Roger Dressler, one of the chief Dolby Labs engineers and developers of Dolby Digital 5.1, Pro Logic II, etc.
If you draw an imaginary horizontal line that runs across your seating area from wall to wall, then the Dolby "ideal" is up to 15 or 20 degrees to the rear of that horizontal line, above ear level, etc. as the quote from the Dolby site notes.
Because of their multi-directional dispersion, the QS8s are very forgiving. My own are not exactly opposite each other or at the same height, and I don't notice any adverse effects (one is slightly forward of my couch on the right wall).
To experiment, get a couple of stepladders to temporarily position the QS8s in different locations and listen.
Regards,
How about rotating the QS8s 90 degrees, so one tweeter faces the ceiling? In my room, I don't have any wall space that would accomodate them other than up near the ceilings.