Polk Audio 265-RT 3-way In-Wall Speaker - The Vanishing Series | Easily Fits in Ceiling/Wall | High-Performance Audio - Use in Front, Rear or as Surrounds | With Power Port & Paintable Grille - Black

These speakers sound amazing. Im not set up to do a true A/B listening test, but to my ear, these are as good or better than the B&W in wall speakers I was considering for about twice the price. The magnetic thin bezel and grill looks and functions great.

HI ALL - wanted to share my successful project with the 265RT series speaker. Executive summary: huge risks but excellent sound, great looks, great instructions, lots of drywall dust. Take your time planning. My original setup was a 200 lb 65 LCD flanked by wall mounted 3-way Polk towers. I just purchased a 100 lb 75 Samsung from BJs and began the planning. The TV was going to be wall mounted on my flimsy 24 apart metal-studded sheetrock. The Polk tower sound was good so wanted to match them or better, but big boxes were off the table. I did not want to cut huge holes in the sheetrock so I looked at a few wall-mount speakers like the Martin Logan SLMs. Problems: 1) they are not local (never purchase speakers you cant listen to) 2) expensive 3) 120 > 25k response (no bass!). TV: I bought a 2x 4 piece of 1/2 finished plywood ($20 Home Depot) and bolted it onto two studs using washers and Driller toggle bolts, then bolted a MountIt ($35 amazon) TV mount with lag screws and washers - TV done. Speakers: Was still in a conundrum about the on wall vs. in-wall, but then I found 3-way Polk in-walls (Amazon) with great ratings so I took a chance and bought 3 for a LCR. After mounting the TV, there were studs in the way for the L/R speakers so I mounted all three horizontally under the TV a la a soundbar. The tweeters are steerable and I doubt they are narrowly focused so the only concern was: it would sound like a soundbar. I checked/recheck measured/remeasured and then cut the first hole. OMG the dust - really bad, like overspray you can vacuum. I would have cut the holes first and covered the area had I realized. Even after the checking I managed to mount one slightly off to the left. I recommend knowing 100% where the studs are (I used tape on the wall), then cutting a peephole to view what will lie in front of the sawblade. I came within microns of an AC cable and steel bracket on speaker 1. Build quality of the 265RT: superb. The sound and the look is excellent! The 265RT is mildly bright and the mid driver is really a highlight for me. Bass is accurate and just enough for most music and movies to not need a subwoofer - my goal. I have a SVS tube subwoofer and BASH amp (Amazon) for the low frequencies. The risks cannot be overstated: cutting large holes in the wall to find a stud, wire or worse, a TV pulling off a wall, or crappy sounding speakers is an unacceptable outcome. Spend ten times the install time to plan your project, diagramming and mocking it up on the wall with masking tape. edit - after one week after Sound is still excellent. Bleed through sound behind speakers to the next room is quite high, thinking of soundproofing and foaming the backside sheetrock. Could possibly help bass as well (old Polk towers pumped noticeable output through bass port, these not so much). Screens are nice but overhang by over .25 inches, so I had to move two wallplates. The highs are very focused which is a problem for some stereo programs/music - I am experimenting with surround modes and so far DTS NEO sounds excellent - really blasts stereo content especially voices, timbre is superb. The BASH 300 arrived and works very well for the SVS 46 tube subwoofer. There is no IR control so the AVR controls the BASH volume. FYI having all the amps behind the wall using an IR extender (dual band from Monoprice) works well, one does have to remember how many remote (Harmony 650 - excellent remote we have 3) button presses does what as there is no OSD. Mounting the IR eye right under the TV mean absolutely no missed commands. Bolting a TV to the wall and hiding speakers/amps does result in a wonderful clean look, the TV appears to be suspended midair. Several sound compromises were necessary but already the old TV + stand seems archaic. There is no doubt in-walls are a substantial compromise coming from Infinity Reference, Mission, and Polk tower speakers, but being late middle aged means my priorities have changed (it wasnt the wife who dictated the new layout). Fan noise from the Comcast box irritates me. A TV on a stand looks cluttered. Big box speakers sound great but we are not 20 and they dont look cool anymore. A floating TV and hidden speakers are a perfect fit today. The recovered floorspace is sweet and the rats nest of cables is a fading memory.

Purchased to replace more expensive Paradigm speakers that had blown out and no longer available. Did extensive research and decided on these speakers. Was surprised by the audio crispness and separation. Comparable to if not better than the Paradigms. Excellent Value!

Very easy install. Excellent looks and sound. Best built ins that wont break the bank

Sounds awesome and for the price it’s really good.

Cant say enough good things! I bought 12. Six to use in my 7.1 dedicated media room, and six to use in my 7.1 living room that doubles as my SONOS whole house audio system. Whether its music I want to hear crystal clear, or chase scene from a Dolby Atmos movie, the speakers are fabulous!

Polk continues to make excellent audio equipment and I would recommend them to anyone with a mid-range budget or higher.

very good sounding speaker I would buy again in a instant my setup is a Marantz 6012 in a 5.1.4 setup I run the 265 rt speakers on all 4 corners then I use the 80 r/x rt for my atmos in ceiling and a svs pb 2000 sub and the 255c rt and it the best sounding setup I could have ever hoped for it is truly I life like sound full all around high quality sound and they just look amazing I have yet to put the covers on cause they have such a great look and build quality

Exactly as they advertised. Sounds amazing.

I love these speakers!! I use the for my rears in a 7.1 setup with some Klipsch Towers up front powered by a Denon and these speakers can handle everything I throw at them!!