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

I purchased this speaker as a stand-alone center channel speaker for my 5.1.2 channel audio system. And out of the 7 speakers I have installed, this is by far the best of the bunch. Even compared to the other Polk speakers I used, this thing imparts serious depth and detail to my audio. And its perfect for the center channel, which is more focused on voices in my system. The size of the woofers allows the speaker to really emphasize the sound, volume and tone of voices, so our dialogue is crystal clear. Im not sure about the specific numbers, but I believe it handles power more effectively too. It gets a bit louder than my Front side speakers when playing the same audio, perhaps its the two-woofer design or maybe just an better S/N ratio. Regardless, it just works. As a true testament to how much I love this speaker, I am seriously thinking about replacing my other Polk in-wall speakers with this. Unfortunately, this guy is a lot more expensive and only sold as a single speaker. Wish Polk would offer it in a discounted pair!!!

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.

Great sound, great deal!

These babies sound awesome in my new basement. I have these as my front left and right in a 7.1 setup. They are paired with the 255C-RT for a center channel, the PSW505 12 inch sub and 90 RT in ceiling as rears. Watching movies literally sounds like were in a movie theater. The wife was very impressed with what I chose to put in our new basement and how great it sounds.

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

Love these, look great and pretty easy to install. Sound great as our front speakers and take up zero space.

These speakers are super easy to install and sound incredible but only AFTER you add a sub woofer. I have (4) 2 way JBL studio monitors on our main floor with a Klipsch sub as my comparison. I was hoping to not need a sub as the 265s have a woofer built in. After installation I hooked them up to my Yamaha receiver to see what they sounded like. Very tinny at lower listening levels. As I increased the volume they began to clear up and come into their own. At levels that my neighbors likely wouldnt enjoy they sounded REALLY good. I went downstairs and grabbed my Klipsch sub and added it to the mix, problem solved sounded INCREDIBLE!! Knowing what I know now I would have just bought their 2 way speakers, saved a bunch of money, and added the much needed sub to the system. Grilles are super clean but I think Ill leave them off. These look REALLY sexy without the grilles on them and even the wife agreed.

My plans changed, so I did not need these anymore and returned them, but not before taking them out of the box and checking them out. They are very well built, and look impressive. I can only assume they sound great from the reviews I have read and personal experience with my existing Polk speakers

Low profile and great sound

I must be missing something here based on the other reviewers. Solid build. For the cost, these are basically what you are paying for in terms of sound and receiving a little more in terms of features and build quality. They look very clean when installed properly. So overall above average value. I knew I would be sacrificing a little with the lack of enclosure on the rear but overall impressed with how its managed. Definitely not blown away but not crying about it either. Definitely recommend tossing some audio insulation around the rear of these. Its cheap, youre ripping your wall to shreds anyway and it goes a long way. Sound is well balanced but definitely requires a sub to complete any kind of true depth, as with pretty much any in-walls for entertainment systems. You defintely need to tweak your receiver settings to get these to your liking. Play around with your levels until you say ahhh, thats it. Default usually isnt the winner. Read the couple paragraphs in the manual regarding the 2 wall distance and tweeter filter as well. The wall distance switch matters most and for most its going to be over 2. My tweeter filter is on given the acoustics of the room, but presumably most people will want it off. The sound itself, once tweaked (Im using a brand new Denon receiver) is what you would expect from a speaker that costs this much. The other reviewers...I dont know. I just dont agree with what many have said in regards to the final product. They sound good but I am not doing cartwheels. The room we tossed them in definitely wasnt getting the GoldenEar budget which is why I purchased them. At the end of the day if you can spend a little more I would look at in-wall enclosed or ultra slim on-wall options or Speakercraft makes some reasonably priced 3 ways that plop in your wall just as these do. Overall I am not disappointed but not going crazy like many other people here. No my objective to be a Debbie Downer but wanted to give a more realistic review than what is posted here. I know I would have appreciated reading it.