The previous installation was set up routinely, with the corner speaker acting as the center, and left and right pulled back a little bit from there. The surrounds were set up as though the television were on the end wall instead of the corner.

Now they have made the ceiling vaulted, and put in some nice tongue and groove lumber between the beams, so three speakers in the corner are out for aesthetic reasons. I am leaning towards a sound bar with a pair of speakers in the ceiling for surrounds.

Anybody have any other creative ideas?

I'm not a great fan of sound bars, but it might be a decent choice in this situation. Was there any comment from the customer about how the former configuration sounded? I try to gauge the customer's discriminations without poisoning them. How important is this area in the overall A/V scheme?

Are the side walls relatively plain and reflective?

I didn’t hear any comments about the sound quality one way or the other. There are conflicting priorities, because the wife is the one that wants the TV in the corner, but the husband wants the best sound. The wife probably doesn’t want any more holes in the ceiling than are needed, probably supported by the contractor and the husband as well.

Would it make sense to mount speakers on the beams?

Edit: typo

You'll change your mind on not being a fan of soundbars after you hear Theory Audio Design. Check it out at CEDIA.

No.

No one puts up a beautiful ceiling, hoping to highlight 4-5 box speakers hung on the beams.

Does it need to be surround?  Really good stereo beats really bad surround sound every day of the week.

+1

have you installed their other gear beyond the soundbars?

What's their retail price points? How do they sound compared to Triad Mini LCR 3.0?

Just like their sister company, Pro Audio Technology, use of any of their speakers requires use of their amps. I have a 7.2.4 going in July. While its a bit pricey to use in just a 3.1 set up given that the amp will do 7.2 so your paying for more than you use, it can be the right solution.

To answer you question, beyond the 3.1, no. But I have done some of the Pro Audio. I personally believe its simply the best. Theory Audio Design is the same company, Paul Hales. They are also going to focus on the commercial market as their systems are capable of 70v as well. All pretty impressive stuff.

Have never done a Triad so cant say.

The SB85 sound bar is 2800. The amp (required!) is 4200 something? You'll need a pre-amp of course. Not cheap but certainly reasonable particularly once you start looking at a 5.2.2 or 7.2 set up. Under 20 grand for crazy great sound.