In-Wall Surround Sound

mizelhike

Hello,
I am adding in-wall 5.1 surround sound to my living room (external sub), but I am having difficulty distinguishing between the options Polk offers. I enjoy tech, but I am fairly new to surround sound.

I was leaning toward the RC65i as the reviews appear to be quite good. However, it appears Polk does not offer a center channel option for this series. After some research, many folks suggest just using the same RC65i as the center channel. Alternatively, I could switch to the Vanishing series.

Does anyone suggest one option over the other?

I should note that I am also considering other options such as Monoprice, Speakercraft, etc. Also, while I love great audio, I do not consider myself an audiophile as I don't notice many of the smaller issues people often hear. Budget wise I am trying to stay under $2k for speakers and a receiver, but could go up to $3k if there is a compelling reason. One of the major issues I am encountering is that I cannot find good locations to demo in-wall speakers in the Baltimore area other than Best Buy which has limited selection.

Any help?

Thanks!
Mike

ROHfan

Mike,

First of all, welcome.

FWIW, I have RCi65's as my front heights and RCi85's as my rears. I really like the 85's, though. Was watching Idol with the wife one night and it literally sounds like you're in the audience. Somebody coughed in the rear left channel and it sounded like she was sitting a few seats from me. It was one of those moments that makes me love this hobby. I really like the ability to swivel the tweeters toward the listening position. I see no reason the 85i can't be used as a center as well as L-R channels. Based on technical discussions I have seen and due somewhat to brand loyalty I wouldn't go with monoprice or speakercraft, personally. Doesn't mean I think they're no good, just wouldn't put my money there.

Syndil

Mike, I am not afflicted with brand loyalty, and I say go with the Monoprice speakers without hesitation. Better yet, get both the Monoprices and the Polks and see if you can tell the difference. They both conveniently use the same size hole in the wall. I have even argued in other threads that, at least when it comes to the RC65i, the Monoprice version (it uses the same model number) is better than Polk's version. But of course, this being a Polk forum, that suggestion was met with hostility.

Monoprice has a decent return policy. Should you decide to return them, you will be out S&H costs but there will be no restock fee. If you can find a local or web-based Internet site with a decent return policy on some Polks, then I would say there is really no good reason not to do an in-home comparison. Or simply start with just the Monoprices first and return them if you find them lacking.

-Syndil, happy owner of both Polk and Monoprice speakers