The back story....there always is one in a thread like this...is that we have an 85" in the shop now being prepped for install. We are breaking all the rules on this one. :)

Basically a stubborn customer had a budget.....but blew it all on the biggest TV he could fit in that budget....and voila....we have an 85" going in with no budget left for a $3000 custom soundbar.

Not only this, but we are putting this thing on an articulating bracket. Yikes, right? After handling the TV, it should be fine. It will require 2 people to maneuver but it is what it is. Chances are it will be put into a good spot and left there. It is in a corner of a room between a fireplace and a wall of windows. I have not seen the seating arrangement yet, but surely it will be a far from ideal viewing situation. :)

For speakers, we are using 3 Klipsch G series flat panel speakers. My task yesterday was mounting the 3 speakers onto the TV/mount in such a way that would be solid, and look as decent as possible (my requirement, not the customer's).

I ended up using a single length of unistrut slightly wider than the TV, bolted to the mounting rails of the ART2XL from SnapAV. I used 12" lengths of unistrut bolted to the longer piece, at each end of the TV to support it against the back of the TV to keep the flex to a minimum. Then, I used a single screw and lock washers to attach the speakers at each end. All in, it is as solid as anything else. A "standard" center channel mount will be used for the center below the TV.

My guess is that with the time involved in engineering this solution, the cost will be creeping in on the cost of a custom length soundbar, which would not only look better, but would likely be less of a challenge to mount. :)

I see Sonance makes a sliding adjustable one that goes out to 77.xx", which is wider than the 85" Sony by a couple of inches. MSRP $2000. Anyone know how it sounds?