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Polk Audio RC85i
Polk Audio RC85i
MSRP: $ 389.00

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Rating
Reviewed by:
JT
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
November 2, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

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Review 1 of 5

Price Paid:  $160.00 from Online

Summary:
I was looking for book shelf speakers. I then started looking at tower. Then I desided to try these that were located in the same listening room. I switched between the speakers several times and found these sounded as good as the bookshelf and nearly as good as the 1200 dollar towers I was looking at.
Brought them home installed them and was even more pleased with the sound. They are used in a home theater setup.

Strengths:
Great sound.

Weaknesses:
None really.


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Rating
Reviewed by:

joebonadona

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
March 5, 2006

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 2 of 5

Price Paid:  $290.00 from Online

Summary:
I have had these speakers for over a year with better than expected results. I even moved them around the room ( with patching). Previously I had a weal amp driving them as surrounds (35w to rear). Upgrading to a digital full power amp has brought new life to these speakers. They perform flawlessly as surrounds and can really rock when you pour on the power. I can't say that the aimable tweeter really makes that much of a difference in my application. I heard Bose 191s in a store that sounded more clear on the high-end, but required a seperate Sub for bass. These are good speakers on there own, you could go with out a sub.

Strengths:
Low distortion, reasonable bass for a sealed 8 inch driver. When used in a seal wall cavaity there is only a little noise escaping to other rooms (10%+/-). I had the big Radio Shack specials in a previous house, no comparison. Easy to install and wire.

Weaknesses:
Don't fiddle around with the aimable tweeters too much or you may poke your screwdriver right through the cone. A little pricey.

Similar Products Used:
Radio Shack in wall speakers 6 inch.


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Rating
Reviewed by:

Breezer88888

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
November 19, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

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Review 3 of 5

Price Paid:  $289.00 from J & R Music World

Summary:
Why aren't there more reviews on this terrific in-wall? The sound is rich and doesn't bleed into the walls (although I have them set into homemade speaker boxes b/c the walls were new). They'll play loud if you want, or beautifully smooth background music if that's the mood you're after. I bought this as my side surrounds, and the smaller 55i's as my back surrounds (set-up is a pseudo 7.1 HT). I wish I would have installed the 85's for the sides and back. Not to knock the 55's, but when you play them, you'll favor the larger presence of the 8 inch woofer and full inch aim-able tweeter.

Strengths:
Sound in a large basement room Clamps work very well behind sheetrock Aim-able full inch tweeter Attractive and paintable cover

Weaknesses:
None specifically, but as with any in-wall, measure carefully. It's pretty much permanent. The clamps don't like to be unhitched more than once. Although not terribly important for HT, if you will be depending on them for music, make sure they are matched with your front speakers (preferably Polk RT series).

Similar Products Used:
RC 55 (sorry, I don't have the exact model number in front of me). Denon 1082 receiver (clone to 3802) Infinity IL-37c center channel Infinity RS-5001 tower speakers


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Rating
Reviewed by:
sokelly
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
November 12, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 4 of 5

Price Paid:  $245.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought these for rear surrounds in my living room. The sound great. I mounted them at 8 feet and really like the aiming feature of the tweeter. Install of the speaker was easy -- wiring the speaker wire under the floor was a huge pain. Worth the effort. Great speakers at a great price.

Strengths:
A big beefy speaker -- probably overkill for surrounds

Weaknesses:
nONE

Similar Products Used:
nONE


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Rating
Reviewed by:
ml1904coryell
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
March 30, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

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Review 5 of 5

Price Paid:  $250.00 from Namebranz

Summary:
Terrific product.....I built my home theater system around the massive Rotel 1065 receiver and needed a pair of speakers in the ceiling for my rear surrounds.....I built my monster front speakers with 18" woofers and needed something to work well with them and the Rotel. The Polk RC85I's were the answer. They also fit the budget. Even though they are square, look great in the ceiling, and are extremely easy to install!

Strengths:
Super reproduction of all instruments, (except for the swynette). Surround sounds are lifelike! Installation is a breeze and all edges hug the mounting surface extremely well. The spring loaded terminals are excellent, contrary to some reviews!

Weaknesses:
None noticed.

Similar Products Used:
No other tested or used.


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