Polk Audio RC85i 2-Way In-Wall Speakers (Pair, White)

by Polk Audio

Product Details

Product Manual [396kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00006I5O6
• Item model number: AW0085-A
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #14 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Stereo Components > Speakers

Product Description

Size: 8 Inch

Amazon.com Product Description

The Polk Audio RC85i 2-way In-wall Speaker delivers incredible sound to any room in your home without using any floor or shelf space. The RC85i is easy to install, requiring only that you cut a hole, feed the wires through, and simply drop the speaker in where it is held in place by rotating cams that safely secure the speaker with no extra assembly or mess. Once installed, the paintable grille and flange allows this in-wall speaker to virtually disappear in the room.

Polk Audio RC85i in-wall speakers in white.

The Polk RC85i utilizes an eight-inch dynamic-balance, mineral filled polymer-composite cone with a rubber surround that outlasts cheaper foam surrounds, as well as a one-inch dynamic-balance, metalized soft dome tweeter with a swivel mount. The swivel-mounted tweeter is aimable for direct high frequency control that ensures spacious imaging with amazing clarity, and well-balanced sound in any listening position, even off-axis listening positions, rather than in just a small sweet spot.

Constructed of durable, moisture resistant materials, the RC85i is safe for use in bathrooms, kitchens, saunas, or even under outdoor eaves, and features a wide-dispersion design for even sound-coverage throughout even large rooms. The RC85i also features infinite baffle tuning which uses the virtual enclosure of in-wall space for superior bass response, and is timbre-matched to the Polk Audio Monitor Series for seamless, enveloping imaging when used in a home theater system.

What's in the Box

RC85i speakers (pair), 2 grilles, cardboard template, owner's manual, and registration card.

Product Description

The Polk Audio RC85i 2-way In-wall Speaker delivers incredible sound to any room in your home without using any floor or shelf space. The RC85i is easy to install, requiring only that you cut a hole, feed the wires through, and simply drop the speaker in where it is held in place by rotating cams that safely secure the speaker with no extra assembly or mess. Once installed, the paintable grille and flange allows this in-wall speaker to virtually disappear in the room. The Polk RC85i utilizes an eight-inch dynamic-balance, mineral filled polymer-composite cone with a rubber surround that outlasts cheaper foam surrounds, as well as a one-inch dynamic-balance, metalized soft dome tweeter with a swivel mount. The swivel-mounted tweeter is aimable for direct high frequency control that ensures spacious imaging with amazing clarity, and well-balanced sound in any listening position, even off-axis listening positions, rather than in just a small sweet spot. Constructed of durable, moisture resistant materials, the RC85i is safe for use in bathrooms, kitchens, saunas, or even under outdoor eaves, and features a wide-dispersion design for even sound-coverage throughout even large rooms. The RC85i also features infinite baffle tuning which uses the virtual enclosure of in-wall space for superior bass response, and is timbre-matched to the Polk Audio Monitor Series for seamless, enveloping imaging when used in a home theater system. What's in the Box - RC85i speakers (pair), 2 grilles, cardboard template, owner's manual, and registration card.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the money you can't beat them., April 20, 2008

By 

B. Roach - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Polk Audio RC65i 2-Way In-Wall Speakers (Pair, White) (Electronics)

The livingroom in our new home just doesn't have a place for free-standing speakers due to the floorplan (very open to the rest of the house, with a fireplace in the front corner). This ruled out using my existing (high-end) theater speakers (large towers).

I went to the local big-box store, and the only set of in-wall speakers they had that I thought were worth buying were a set of Klipsch that came in at $600 per set. I almost went for them, but after measuring I found they were about 2" too wide for where I needed to install one of them. The $300 Infinity set sounded horrible. They didn't sell Polk Audio or Boston Acoustic, which was actually what I wanted to look at.

So ... I figured at $140 from Amazon, the RC65i's were worth a shot. I'm glad I did - price vs. performance these are an excellent set of speakers. Decent dynamic range, and actually a surprising amount of bass if you don't have a subwoofer (though I recommend having one - you can only get so much out of a 6" speaker).

Now ... are these "amazing" speakers? Well ... no. They do not compare to my aforementioned towers. Those towers were also $900 a piece. They also are not nearly as good as the $600 Klipsch in-walls I looked at. If you think you're going to get amazing clarity and dynamic range for $70 a speaker ... you're going to be disappointed.

What these are is a great everyday speaker that will sound decent to most people under most conditions. They are a *slight* bit muddy, but not for the price range. That's the thing you really have to do is compare them to other speakers you could buy for so little money. And even some that cost a little more - the Infinity set I listened to at the big-box store was twice the price and didn't sound any better.

It also helps if you have a good receiver that lets you control the dynamic range being sent to your speakers. I have a high-end Yamaha that allows me to cut the low frequencies out of the main channel and only send them to the sub (12" powered down-fire). Doing this, you get rid of most of the "muddy" issues.

Summary: Can't beat them if this is how much money you want to spend. Period. I liked them so much for my application that I ordered a set of rc55i (the smaller ones) and installed them for the back surround channel. When I finish the basement I'm thinking of getting some of these (rc65i) to use for the back-channel.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Speakers!!, December 26, 2007

By 

Weatherwiser (Cedar Brook, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Polk Audio RC65i 2-Way In-Wall Speakers (Pair, White) (Electronics)

I purchased a pair of these in-walls for a pool table/game room area I am building in the basement. My receiver is an Onkyo 805 7.1 home theater system and these will serve as stereo/audio part for only that room. I have never owned Polks or in wall speakers for that matter and listened to them at the big box store before purchasing these through Amazon. I was really impressed at the audio quality. I also didn't want floor standing speakers, but didn't want to sacrifice audio quality either so these speakers filled the bill.
No back boxes are necessary, the speaker is designed as an "infinite
baffle" type and only requires that the front and rear moving sound wave
are isolated from each other. Polk recommends to maximize the sound quality, you place a modest amount of a sound absorbing material, such as Polyfil (a synthetic cotton-like material found at craft/fabric stores) inside the cavity before installing the speakers. Supposedly, this will absorb the rear moving sound wave and reduce mid range coloration. I think insulation also works just as well. I haven't done this yet and they still sound excellent!

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great buy!, December 26, 2007

By 

T. Hall (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polk Audio RC65i 2-Way In-Wall Speakers (Pair, White) (Electronics)

Super easy to put in and fantastic sound. Followed everyone's advice and stuffed the cavity with insulation....taped the wall with Scotch blue painters tape..and scored the paper of the drywall with a razor before cutting with a small drywall saw!

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