I am starting the shopping process for a home theater speaker system. I have heard a lot of good things about the Axiom surrounds (QS8, QS4), but I haven't been able to discern the answer to one nagging question: Are the "quadpolar" surround drivers operating in a dipole (out of phase with each other) or bipole (in phase with each other) arrangement?

Actually, they're both a dipole and bipole speaker. The tweeters are mounted on the side baffles of the speaker, and wired out of phase (like a dipole) with a null between them. The woofers are mounted on the top and bottom baffles of the speaker, wired in phase (like a bipole).

They are VERY impressive in creating a true 3-D surround effect, and quite forgiving of asymmetric placement in a difficult room. You will not be disappointed at all.

I suspected that they might be a combination dipole/bipole, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the info.

My prospective room is a rectangle, 13' x 22', with 8' ceilings. The TV will be centered in one of the short walls. I should be able to obtain a fairly "ideal" placement of surrounds relative to the seating area. Should this be directly to the sides of the sitting area, or slightly behind? I have heard recommendations both ways.

I have almost the exact room dimensions (13 X 23). I put my 8's on the sides and slightly forward. I also have the rear center 8 mounted on the wall behind the couch at the same height as the side surrounds. This has proven to be the ideal placement in my room. It is a pain to do, but try to get some help and experiment with their placement.