TC80i DIY Enclosure - Need Input - Cabinet Design

tortfsr24

I just purchased a pair of TC80i in ceiling speakers at HiFi Buys for $230 for the pair! (They are going out of business). I am in a rental house awaiting construction of a new one. I would like to enjoy these speakers now, but can't cut holes in the ceiling. Do you have any suggestions on a DIY enclosure for these? I know Polk sells a pre-construction type enclosure, but I am looking to build a standard rectangular type speaker cabinet.
My specific questions are:
How many cubic feet?
Ported / Non-Ported? (I assume ported)
Length and diameter of port? (Crutchfield sells some standard (car audio)ones I have used with decent results in the past.)
How much poly fill? Do you jam as much as will fit or just enough loft to insulate the enclosure?

Thanks for your help,
Brent

jcaut

I don't know much about those speakers, other than what I just read on the Polk site. I can't see anything about an actual enclosure: I think they're designed for infinite baffle use. IOW, they use the space in the wall, between the studs, as the enclosure. If that's the case, they need a pretty large conventional enclosure to be tuned optimally. Of course, you don't have to shoot for optimal, especially if it's only temporary. I think you might get by with putting them in about a 1 cu. ft. box stuffed lightly (full, but not packed) with Dacron. I wouldn't try to port them. I'm just guessing though. You could probably call customer service and inquire about it. I'm sure Ken Swauger could help you, or at least tell you whether or not it would be worth the effort.

Jason

Mazeroth

jcaut nailed it.

dkg999

My girlfriend had a brick wall in the back of her living room, and I used one of the Polk inwalls in a box for the rear center channel of her 6.1 system. I made a box the width of a stud bay out of 1x4 oak, and long enough to mount the inwall speaker. I used a piece of 3/4" MDF for the back of the box. I glued some dacron batting to the sides. I did put two small 1" holes on the top and bottom for venting. Not sure if I needed the vents, but it sounds just fine for the rear center channel.