In-Wall / In-Ceiling speaker selection for budget home theater

firedancer

Hey everyone,

I am putting together a budget system for a den home theater. However, it's a pretty small room, so I've decided to go with in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. The fronts (and probably center too) will go in a 2X4 wall that I'm building new next to an existing wall. This new wall is for several reasons - the existing wall has insulation and plumbing/wiring in it, so I don't want to bother with snaking wire through an existing wall (without tearing the sheetrock off). Also, I intend to build a hole in the new wall to recess mount the TV (or at least the TV wall mount so the TV sits flush on the wall).

The other requirement is that the speakers vanish as much as possible (and sound good of course!), and also be as affordable as possible. I'm thinking that I should do the following:

65-RT's for the left and right in-walls
either 65-RT or 265-RT (mounted horizontally) for the center below the TV
---(or possibly 255c-RT if you guys think that would be better than a 65-RT or 265-RT for the center)
620-RT for the in-ceiling surrounds

Also, since I'm building a new wall from scratch, I can space the studs wherever I want them, and I would like to place them optimally so the LCR speakers sound their best. The only problem is that the new wall will be open to the existing stud wall (with the insulation, etc), so doing the typical 16" spacing with sheetrock on each side for the in-wall acoustic chamber won't be possible. Should I attempt to build a "box" out of MDF to fit between the studs into which the LCR speakers will fit? I know Polk makes some of these types of boxes, but I can build my own too. If I do this, does anyone know what the box volume should be set to (for the 65-RT's for instance)? Should they be empty, filled with poly-fill, etc?

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on my plans.

2 questions:
- should I use 65-RT, 265-RT, or 255c-RT for my center speaker?
- should I build a box between the studs for the LCR speakers? How should that box be sized and stuffed?

Thanks for your time! Sorry for any grammatical errors! Feel free to ask questions!

firedancer

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

smackintyre7

Hey firedancer, I have the same types of questions, hopefully someone will advise soon!

firedancer

I guess nobody is a fan of in-wall speakers.

I ended up just calling Polk and asking them my questions - they were more than helpful! I ended up buying 2 65RT's for the fronts, a 255c-RT for the center, and 2 620-RT's for the rear surround (5.1 setup). I built boxes for the fronts and center because I had an open stud cavity (no sheetrock on the back side, so the volume of the space between the studs would have been too much). Polk advised me to do about 1 cubic foot for the fronts, and about 1.4 cubic feet for the center, which is what I did. I put studs cross-ways between the vertical studs for the top and bottoms of the "boxes", then used 1/2" MDF for the back of the box. Then I sealed it really well with silicon sealant around all edges. I'm still waiting for the drywall to be put on, so the speakers aren't in yet, but I expect them to sound great! I may even throw some poly-fill in the speaker cavities to tighten up the bass if needed.

What were your questions, smackintyre7?

granitestate

Firedancer,
Are you happy with the results? Would you have done anything different?
How did you come to the decision to go with the 65RT's? I am looking at the 65RT's or RC85i's for left and right channels. Is the jump in price to the 65RT's worth it? Thanks.

RandyCroissant

Be sure the silicone sealer is fully cured prior to installing the speakers as uncured silicone is corrosive to electrical equipment.