Elevation of 7.1 speakers

[Methost]

I am going to be running all my speaker wire this weekend and I want to get it as close to were I want my speakers as possible. So some help would be great.

Front soundstage - Better to have tweeters at ear level? or better to have at same elevation as tweeters in the center channel?

Side speakers (Qs8s) - Calling listening level 0'-0", what would be a good elevation for these speakers? Note that I have NO wall on my left side so I will need to make a stand to get this speaker at the required elevation.

Rear speakers - I am thinking of getting M3Tis for this but will be using a small JBL northridge till I have the funds - What would be the best elevation for these speakers?

Thanks in advance for any tips -

Also, I was not going to use a junction box for the speaker end of the speaker wire but rather just cut a hole in the drywall large enough for the rear of the 5-way binding plate and secure the plate directly to the drywall. Anyone see a problem with this? Or should I just get the damn junction boxes?

[j_garcia]

IMO, tweeters at ear level is ideal for the mains. Wherever the center ends up, it ends up, but you can angle it towards you to achieve proper imaging. With multipole surrounds, higher up is going to probably be best, and I'd go with Dolby's recommendation of around 2-3 ft above. I prefer to use monopole surrounds and I have them on stands roughly at the same level as my mains, though slightly toed out, away from the listener so you are slightly off axis. This works very well for movies and extremely well for multichannel music.

Junction boxes look a whole lot better, but it isn't going to make much of a difference, just a personal preference. Me, I'd use the boxes and plates, but the wire would still just be running through them (no connection at the box).

[jcPanny]

Axiom has a good article on the Dolby recommended layout, and audioholics has written a couple similar articles:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/archives/home_theater_layout.html

They recommend the surrounds a couple feet above ear level. Since the QS8s have drivers on top and bottom, you might consider buying the Axiom stand and matching the height of the wall mounted surround with the stand. For the rears surrounds, the M2i's might match better with the surrounds since they have the same size driver.

For your binding posts, you might consider the low voltage type mounting brackets from parts express. They hook onto the drywall and allow you to securely attach decora type faceplates. This would provide a clean look and connections behind the receiver.
Check Partnumber=261-431 on *****************