QS8/QS4 owners:

I am wondering what experiences you have had, when experimenting with Speaker Placement.

After x-mas, I plan on getting a set of QS8. My HT is 12'x12', with 4 seats ~1" from the rear wall. Currently, I own a set of CSW S300 (Bipole/Monopole/Dipole units); which are 1' above ear level (total of 4' off ground), and 2' in front of the ear centerline. The reason I mounted them forward, is because the Manual said it was OK and my seats are about 1' from the back wall. The location never bothered me, until I installed my new L/C/R M22 & VP150 setup; now the direction is too localized, and the forward position is now perceivable. When I upgrade to the QS8, I am thinkng of increasing the height to 2' above ear (5' from ground) - and 90degrees direct on ear centerline. This would put the center of the QS8 center ~1.5' from the rear wall leaving ~10" of clearance from the edge of the speaker to the rear wall. I am hoping this will work out fine, in regards to being so close to the back wall; since the QS8 units are dispersive surrounds anyhow, and the back wall has heavy curtains and artwork to break up harshness, then maybe the Audyssey will help diminish any remaining glaring acoustical problems.

I welcome all experiences and recommendations.

The recommended position for side surrounds is behind the listener, so on the rear wall would be best as you are only 1' away from the wall. I have my couch 2' away from the wall and the QS8's are 1' behind my listening position mounted to the side walls about 2' up and I think they work great, better than I had in my old home with the QS8's mounted very high up and not in ideal positions. The pic is a little deceptive as to distances behind the couch.

I think you are on the right track in trying to increase the height. I’ve generally found that regardless of the speaker design the farther away it is the less localizable. As for specific placement really the best thing you can do is to experiment with different locations to see what works best for your situation. In my experience no two room/seating arrangements ever seem to work out the same.

Both my home theaters have had curtains but one thing I found was that I prefered to leave the back wall curtains open because I prefer getting the extra higher frequence reflections off the back wall. However, in each case I did have several feet behind my seating so my experience may not translate over to your situation.

Cheers,
Dean

Aw, c'mon Dean. You live alone!! I'm in jealous awe of your self-indulgence.!

Just to add to the fray, I have 4 QS8's, all on Axiom's stands. My room has only one wall that's not glass, so mounting was never an option.

I gotta say, they are soooo placement forgiving. Having stands made it easy to play with their placement. I don't really have the 2 rears where they "should" be and I still get great effect.

Today's featured out-of-context quote.

Please have some decency and put your contexts back on.

I knew it was gonna happen. I just didn't know who. And then, there you were. Both of you!

I had my QS4s and have my QS8s mounted right up next to the ceiling, about 2 ft in front of my couch. It is not... ideal. When I'm sitting on the couch, I can hear that the surround material is above, and while it is somewhat enveloping, it is not nearly the effect that I get when I'm standing in front of the QS8s--and when I'm doing that, I can't tell how high they are.

Nice work, Mark.

Oh, and I'd put the surrounds on the rear wall if you have that choice. But your plan as stated should be rewarding, too.

Walker, welcome. For a 5.1 setup without back surrounds it's best if the side surrounds can be positioned slightly farther back than directly to the side, to lend a little phantom "back" effect. In your situation this suggests mounting the QS8s on the rear wall about 2-3' above ear level and spread as widely as possible, just a few inches from the side walls.