Polk Audio RC80i 2-Way In-Ceiling Speakers (Pair, White)
By: Polk Audio Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 24
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 On: 2008-07-15
I purchased these last December, 2007 from Amazon and after all these months I have been completely satisfied with the Polk Audio brand. I will agree with the others that the included templates make a tight fit. It is not to much more work to slowly chisel away to get that perfect fit though. I never did anything like this before and Im completely amazed of the outcome. You cant go wrong with the template, just make sure you go in the attic and clear out any insulation that might fall on you.
This was my setup for the home theater and my wife and I are completely happy with the sound, look, and would purchase Polk Audio again.
Front: RC80i
Surround: RC60i
Back Surround: RC60i
Center: CS1
Sub: PSW505
On: 2008-07-11
I recently installed 4 of these speakers in my family room for our surround sound system. I know, in-ceiling is not "ideal" as defined by the audiophiles...but for a regular guy in the real world, I say these work great. Dont read all the hype by home theater "experts"...well, not all of it anyway.
I have a large, very open family room, and these speakers easily fill the room with very nice sound quality. Ive only listened to music so far, but I am thrilled with my decision to use these. Sound quality is great, and I dont have any ugly speakers hanging from my walls/ceilings. You mount these, and they all but disappear visually.
Installation...I laugh at some of the people on there talking about having some hard times with this or that. You get a template to use for cutting holes in the ceiling...use the right saw, and this is an easy process. Mounting them is even easier. Removing the grills the first time is simple...if you read the instructions on how to do it. Removing them later might be a bit trickier, but I wont need to get in there ever again, so who cares.
Great speakers, and a great price. Now stopping reading these reviews and just buy them.
On: 2008-07-04
These speakers look great and sound great. I bought 4 sets of these to fill the house with. Super simple to install. Almost impossible to screw up installation. The speakers put out great sound and the adjustible angle of the tweeters make customization of sound easy. I would certainly buy these again.
On: 2008-07-03
Ive installed four pair of polk RC series speakers and just wanted to expand on the comments about installation difficulty. Removing the grills with a paper clip as the directions suggest can be futile. I found an ice pick and a flat screwdriver used as a pry device to work very well. Be sure to insert the pick into a hole in the side of the grill. After I cut the first hole in the drywall I learned to favor the outside edge of the template and all the others went fine. Im very happy with this product.
On: 2008-07-02
As with most Polk products, these speakers are tough to beat for the price. I bought two pair for my 5.1 home theater setup. One pair for the front left and right, and the other for the back left and right. Note that using ceiling speakers for the front surrounds is not ideal. Unfortunately, my home was pre-wired this way with the cables in the ceiling. Bringing them down to the ceiling, cutting dry wall, etc. would have been a big hassle.
My setup:
Receiver - Onkyo TX-SR705
Center speaker - Polk CS2
Sub - Outlaw Audio LFM-2
DVD/CD - Oppo Digital DV-981HD
Your results may vary with different equipment.
Surprisingly, the sound imaging is pretty good even though the front surrounds are in the ceiling. The directional tweeters do help a bit with this. Bass is ok, but youll want to pair these with a sub for home theater viewing. They also sound great with music. Overall sound is detailed but warm and never harsh with the highs. I cranked the volume beyond ridiculous levels and the sound remained true.
Installation was fairly simple. Use included template to draw circle. Cut hole. Remove grill. Connect speaker to wire, push into hole, then screw down clamps. Reinstall grill.
I did not have problems with taking the grills off or putting them back on like some other reviewers. Maybe Polk fixed the problem? When drawing the circle off the template, you may want to cut a hair outside of the circle. Even then the speaker will fit in snugly. Which is a good think because that makes it much easier to turn the screws that are attached to the clamps (the clamps that secure it to the ceiling). Otherwise youll have to hold the speaker and screw at the same time (uh..thats what she said).
Overall, great product for the price.
On: 2008-06-20
I used an open paperclip to help remove the front grill. It fit into the holes on the grill and made it much, much easier to remove.
On: 2008-06-18
I absolutely love it. I paired this with with Polk audio: CS2 center, 60 towers, RC85i wall souround, and RC80i in ceiling for back surround. With a large living room and cathedral ceilings, and an ONKYO SR805 to push them, these speakers provide an excellent home theater/music experience.
CONS: Make sure you get a subwoofer seperately (not really a con, more of a requirement)
On: 2008-06-02
These speakers were upgrades for the builder grade in ceiling speakers. Even though they are rear speakers there is a noticeable difference in the quality, preciseness, and crispness in their output. They are not over priced and they are a quality product, a combination that cannot be beat. I plan on replacing all of my in ceiling speakers with these. I cant wait!!!
On: 2008-05-11
Polk Audio RC80i 2-Way In-Ceiling Speakers (Pair, White)
I replaced my BOZE 141 rear speakers with these in ceiling speakers and am quite pleased with the results. I had not used Polk Audio before and was concerned that they would not preform as good as the BOZE. The BOZE were not bad but only had an 80 watt handling range where the Polk have a 120 watt range. Now the sound from the rear speakers is a lot richer than before. I am well pleased.
On: 2008-04-09
First, they were very easy to install. Second, I enjoy good quality sound, but Im also not dumb enough to take out a second mortgage to get it. They are a great compromise for someone on a budget, yet wants something more than the cheap speakers can offer. They are much better than what I had.
I like them so much, Im thinking about installing in-wall speakers for the front and center too.
On: 2008-03-31
Dont spend thousands of dollars building out your surround & surround back channels - these speakers get the job done! Installation is a snap - I had four speakers installed in the back of my living room in less than an hour. Sound is phenomenal - I just cant see paying hundreds of dollars PER SPEAKER when you can get this great-sounding pair @ such a low price. These are great for surround or whole home sound - definitely a good buy.
 On: 2008-03-25
I purchased 4 of the RC80i for surround sound in my living room, lefts and rights for both front and back speakers. My rationale in purchasing in-ceiling speakers was the desire not to have a room filled with visible speakers. The mounting was very easy. Just cut the holes via the template and slide them in. The grilles fit snug and Im sure will be a challenge if I ever have to remove them. The directional tweeter design is great and a must with in-ceiling speakers. Unfortunately, I was hoping for a little better fidelity. The speakers lack the high frequencies. Theyre good when listening to movies but you can hear the difference when listening to music. I set my expectations too high and have to remind myself of the price.
On: 2008-03-23
We purchased these speakers on the recommendation of our daughter and are very pleased with the product.
On: 2008-03-13
I was hesitant to install these myself, but once I cut the first hole in the drywall of the ceiling everything else was easy. The instructions were very clear and easy to understand. They addressed any questions I had. Like previous reviewers, Id also recommend cutting just around the outside of the line you trace using the template.
I was told the hardest part is running the speaker wire through the ceiling, basement, etc. This turned out to be true. Id definitely recommend running the speaker wire and figuring out placement before you order these. This includes making sure there arent any studs, electrical wires or pipes in the 10 inch area behind the ceiling where you plan to install each speaker.
These are a great value (got them for around $125 for the pair with free shipping), easy to install and sound great. I use them for TV and music.
 On: 2008-02-15
Easy to install and decent sound. Not as clear as the Elans in the rest of the house but the bass is pretty good. Id rate these a very good value.
On: 2008-02-13
sound great in large room. Installed four in 18x20 room. very difficult to get grill off without damaging it. only gave it four stars due to grill difficulty. polk needs to think about packaging without grill attached.
On: 2008-02-08
I purchased these speakers as surround speakers and they work great (I especially like the directional tweeters).
On: 2008-01-23
Great speakers. They were easy to install and provide great sound. They look good and can be painted if necessary. This was my second time purchasing this speaker. I have them in my den and now in my bedroom. I would purchase them again.
On: 2008-01-02
I installed a pair of these in the kitchen, after which my wife and I both had one of those mouth-open, "wow" experiences. They flood the room with deep, rich sound: crips highs and full, round lows. You can angle the tweeters to "aim" them better, but I didnt want one particular sweet spot in the kitchen, so I left them pointing directly downwards. Awesome.
The installation is quite easy as well. I found that with a carefully cut hole I had no problems at all with speaker insertion. As with the other reviews, I had a devil of a time getting the speaker grilles off, and was afraid I might pull out one of the tiny holes with the paperclip. Polk would do better to package these with the grilles off so that the installer can skip that step. However, I found that putting them back on was easy - you just have to make sure you put them back on with an even insertion on all edges and then work your way around little by little...you cant fully insert them on one end and make the rest fit, they are that tight.
Bottom line: I love these and highly recommend them.
On: 2007-12-20
My buddy told me these were very easy to install. He kept telling me what a smart design the locking mechanism is. They sound great. The Omni directional tweeters make up for any problems that might arise from less than ideal speaker placement due to shape of your A/V room. My ceiling is textured white, so these speakers almost disappear until you turn them on.
On: 2007-11-25
This is an excellent set of in-ceiling speakers. Installation was easy using the included template. Cutting a round hole didnt need to be "perfect" thanks to the inch or so bezel around the outside edge. My one suggestion is to use a hand-saw instead of a Dremel or powered saw. Its a little harder on your arm, but the mess from the Dremel was INCREDIBLE.
The sound from these speakers is also fantastic. I actually like their sound so much that Ive gone in and turned the rear-speaker bias up 5db after auto-calibration. I paired them with an RC80 front set and an LCiC center channel.
On: 2007-11-21
I put 5 pairs of these in various rooms in our house, and am delighted with the sound. Highly recommended.
I do concur with the points another reviewer made: the cutout templates provide for a tight fit (cut the outside of the line when installing), and the grills are a real pain to get in and out - Polk should look at this last issue.
On: 2007-11-03
Easy to install, sounds great. It was easy to paint the grills to match the ceiling color, so easily met WAF.
by: elderbed On: 2007-06-07
These speakers are great. Installation was much easier because the large, 8" opening you cut into the wall/ceiling makes it much easier to fish speaker wire. The mounting brackets securely fasten to the wall so there is no shaking or rattling. The tweeter can easily pivot to aim at your listening position. These are voice matched to the Polk "Monitor" series speakers, so match with any other RC series in-wall speaker, CS1 or CS2 center channel speaker, and PSW10 or PSW12 subwoofer.
My only 2 complaints, which were not enough to drop the rating, are:
1) The speaker cutout template turned out to be a tad small, and I had to go around with a keyhole saw again to make it 1/8" larger to fit the speaker all the way. That made it a little messier, but it ended up fine.
2) The speaker grill is pretty hard to remove, but you only have to do that once, and you want it to fit snugly anyways.
by: elderbed On: 2007-06-06
These speakers are great. Installation was much easier because the large, 8" opening you cut into the wall/ceiling makes it much easier to fish speaker wire. The mounting brackets securely fasten to the wall so there is no shaking or rattling. The tweeter can easily pivot to aim at your listening position. These are voice matched to the Polk "Monitor" series speakers, so match with any other RC series in-wall speaker, CS1 or CS2 center channel speaker, and PSW10 or PSW12 subwoofer.
My only 2 complaints, which were not enough to drop the rating, are:
1) The speaker cutout template turned out to be a tad small, and I had to go around with a keyhole saw again to make it 1/8" larger to fit the speaker all the way. That made it a little messier, but it ended up fine.
2) The speaker grill is pretty hard to remove, but you only have to do that once, and you want it to fit snugly anyways.
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