Polk Audio RC60i and RC80i

[audioblue]

Hello, I'm in search of some surrond sound speakers for my home theater room. I have a onkyo tx-sr605. The speakers would be for a 5.1 setup. All wires are already run in ceiling. So, my question is which speakers would you recommend the RC60i's or RC80i's. Also, would it be best for me to buy 3 sets of these because I also need a center channel speaker in the ceiling. Don't want to spend a ton of money and found these speakers for under 97.00 and 120.00 on amazon. Any other brands to consider?? Looking for suggestions.......

thanks,

 

[MDS]

I think the main difference between the two is 6" vs 8" woofer and naturally the RC80i is slightly larger.

Note that the instructions say that they must be mounted at least 1" away from a joist. My house was also pre-wired with speaker wire going to the ceiling but the builders attached a j-box (the little plastic box behind all of your switches and outlets). I bought the RC60i with the intention of trying out ceiling speakers.

You need to check how your house was wired because in my case they wouldn't work without major drywall work. If I remove that rectangular j-box and mount the speaker, the grill will not cover the edges of the rectangular cutout. I'd have to patch the entire hole, re-texture and repaint - then mount the speaker an inch or two back from the cutout. I suggest you verify what you have in the ceiling and check the dimensions of the speakers and the size of the grills before you begin.

 

[audioblue]

Well, I don't have any j-boxes in my ceiling. The builder just left the wiring stapled to the sides of the joists in the ceiling, so this shouldn't be an issue right? Would you recommend purchasing the same type of speaker for the center channel in the ceiling?

 

[MDS]

Yes, it will be much easier for you if there no j-boxes. You just trace the template for the speaker and cut out the hole using a drywall saw.

I would try to keep the front and center speakers the same so they are timbre matched and pans from left to center to right sound smooth.

 

[gcmarshall]

i own the rc60i speakers. they are not that impressive. if your budget allows, consider something that performs a little better. i use my only for light background music in a formal dining room, so their performance was not that critical to me. however, when i turn them up to see how they do louder, they don't perform all that well.

at least try to listen to them before buying so you know sort of what to expect. then again, everyone's ears are different, so you may love them regardless. the price is certainly hard to beat.

 

[MDS]

I bought the RC60i when I thought I would try to utilize the ceiling speakers as the rears in a 7.1 system (but abandoned the idea as mentioned above when it turned out it would not be so simple).

I have no idea how they sound but they were inexpensive compared to others, had an aimable tweeter, and were light. I know there are other brands that may sound better, and you will pay for that, but what about the whole idea of weight? All of these speakers are attached to the ceiling using dog-legs. Typical drywall can support a max of 8 lbs. Anyone use in-ceiling speakers that are large and heavy and how is that working out?

For me, it would have just been an inexpensive experiment, but I wanted to try it anyway. I had new wire run to the sides of the room where the side surrounds for 5.1 should be, but I thought it might be cool to have in-ceilings for the rears of a 7.1 setup. After all, the wire is there so why not use it?

 

[audioblue]

Guys, I appreciate all your assistance. I think I will go ahead and purchase the RC60i's. The only other option that I was considering were the contractor series of the Klipsch brand which and installer would do for me. The RC60i's are pretty cheap at 97.00 a pair. Thanks again.....