Polk Audio 65-RT in-Wall Speaker (1) 6.5" Driver - The Vanishing Series with Premium Sound | Power Port & Paintable Grille White

I got these as a back up after my Def Tech in wall speakers sounded cheap and like they came from a kids meal toy bag.These Polk speakers on sale were about $120/ea and for that price I can’t recommend them enough. Very clear sounding, big bass port, and extremely easy to tune for your room.5/5.

Excellent in-wall speaker for the price. We have used them as rear/surrounds in small-ish and medium-sized rooms with fantastic results.Like most similarly-priced in-wall speakers, this model (and others from Polk) do not have integrated enclosures (a box-like structure made of thin material, similar to a traditional speaker cabinet). The lack of an enclosure means that much of the sound energy dissipates behind the speaker and gets lost inside the wall cavity.Manufacturers claim that they take wall cavities into account when designing this type of in-wall speaker -- and that the space between wall studs functions like an oversized speaker cabinet. The problem is that studs often have holes or gaps, especially in big cities like NYC where metal studs (with large pre-punched holes every foot or two) are required by code, even in residential buildings.Anyway, this speaker sounds surprisingly good and while a lot of sound does seem to disappear within the wall, plenty of sound gets to the listener in the room. We add foam inserts inside the wall about a foot above and below the speaker, and that helps.A nice feature on this model is that the tweeter is mounted in a gimbal, allowing the tweeter to be aimed at an angle -- very handy for tweaking directionality without the hassle of cutting another hole and moving the speaker in case the initial placement is not perfect (or if you change your furniture or room layout down the road).If you don't have budget constraints then consider more expensive "audiophile" brands like Sonance or Definitive, as many of their in-wall speakers have integrated enclosures, nicer speaker components, and better crossover circuitry. But expect to pay 5x to 10x as much for those fancy in-wall speakers that may or may not sound slightly better to listeners with critical ears. Just keep in mind that many, many factors are involved -- particularly the size and proportions of the room, furniture and cabinets in the room, windows and doors, amplifiers and other equipment used in the system, etc.For the vast majority of home theatre owners, these would be a great choice for a small or small-to-medium room. For larger rooms, look at Polk's 265-RT.

I just installed four of these in my living room. I chose these over the slightly cheaper Polk in-wall speakers because of their appearance. I wanted something as thin as possible, with a nice looking grill, that would blend right in to the walls. I found precisely that with these speakers. And they sound great too.They were pretty easy to install, though I have some past experience working with drywall. You definitely want to explore your wall ahead of time, as it really stinks to cut a big hole in your wall, only to find there is lumber in there that will either block the speaker, or block the running of the wire. (Use a stud finder, make sure the studs are far enough apart to fit the speaker, and make sure there is no wood blocking below the speaker that will prevent fishing the wire. Once you think you have your spot, poke a small hole in the drywall, slide a coat hanger into the wall and feel around to make sure the space is clear. Only after doing both of those, put up the template using a level, and then cut the hole)My wife wants to paint them, which has me a little worried. They say they are paintable, but I worry about clogging the grills. I'll post an update after we do that, and let you know how it turns out.

Installed these speakers as surrounds in my media room and they are BRILLIANT. Rarely can you install a set of in-wall or in-ceiling speakers and not miss the presence of a subwoofer in the room. At this point in my room build, I have not installed fronts, center or subwoofer yet. So I ran these speakers by themselves and then I also ran them paired with my rear surrounds (Polk RC80i's). On both occasions, they sounded brilliant. Nice deep, punchy base and I never once missed my subwoofer. I know when I get my whole system assembled, these speakers are going to play a pivotal role in my 7.2 system. The installation of these speakers is simple...just follow the directions for the template they give you and be sure that you are in between joists BEFORE you cut your hole. The clips that are used to secure these to the drywall work seamlessly as well. Another fantastic product from the folks at Polk Audio. You get what you pay for in speakers...the price of these may seem steep compared to other inferior speakers on the market today...but they are worth every penny!

I added to side walls, and wanted Polk to match my front speakers. Everyone says they sound great and add a dimension even for sporting events

Based on my other Polk in-wall speakers and anticipating the replacement of the broken speakers I can say that I'll be happy with the speakers. They look great in the wall and give good sounds for the price. HOWEVER, this review is mainly just a warning to others to avoid the Amazon "renewed" and Amazon Warehouse "Like New" offers for these speakers. I bought one of each and they both arrived with missing mounting clips, broken mounting clip supports, and dried drywall mud all around the back side of the speaker. Buy these new, nothing else.