5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent in-wall speaker for the price!

2026-02-23    -Biff P.

Excellent in-wall speaker for the price. We have used them as rear/surrounds in small-ish and medium-sized rooms with fantastic results.Like most similarly-priced in-wall speakers, this model (and others from Polk) do not have integrated enclosures (a box-like structure made of thin material, similar to a traditional speaker cabinet). The lack of an enclosure means that much of the sound energy dissipates behind the speaker and gets lost inside the wall cavity.Manufacturers claim that they take wall cavities into account when designing this type of in-wall speaker -- and that the space between wall studs functions like an oversized speaker cabinet. The problem is that studs often have holes or gaps, especially in big cities like NYC where metal studs (with large pre-punched holes every foot or two) are required by code, even in residential buildings.Anyway, this speaker sounds surprisingly good and while a lot of sound does seem to disappear within the wall, plenty of sound gets to the listener in the room. We add foam inserts inside the wall about a foot above and below the speaker, and that helps.A nice feature on this model is that the tweeter is mounted in a gimbal, allowing the tweeter to be aimed at an angle -- very handy for tweaking directionality without the hassle of cutting another hole and moving the speaker in case the initial placement is not perfect (or if you change your furniture or room layout down the road).If you don't have budget constraints then consider more expensive "audiophile" brands like Sonance or Definitive, as many of their in-wall speakers have integrated enclosures, nicer speaker components, and better crossover circuitry. But expect to pay 5x to 10x as much for those fancy in-wall speakers that may or may not sound slightly better to listeners with critical ears. Just keep in mind that many, many factors are involved -- particularly the size and proportions of the room, furniture and cabinets in the room, windows and doors, amplifiers and other equipment used in the system, etc.For the vast majority of home theatre owners, these would be a great choice for a small or small-to-medium room. For larger rooms, look at Polk's 265-RT.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good speakers, but don't buy Amazon Warehouse "Like New"

2026-01-21    -Jacob T

Based on my other Polk in-wall speakers and anticipating the replacement of the broken speakers I can say that I'll be happy with the speakers. They look great in the wall and give good sounds for the price. HOWEVER, this review is mainly just a warning to others to avoid the Amazon "renewed" and Amazon Warehouse "Like New" offers for these speakers. I bought one of each and they both arrived with missing mounting clips, broken mounting clip supports, and dried drywall mud all around the back side of the speaker. Buy these new, nothing else.

3.0 out of 5 stars Average sound quality

2026-01-29    -DBold

There are cheaper in-wall speakers that sound much better. I have had these for several years now. The sound quality is good, but I have found cheaper in-walls that sound much better for half the price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sound quality for the price

2026-01-18    -Compass

Love the sound from these. Installed for a friend and can highly recommend them. The ported design gives plenty of bass reinforcement, and the sound is pretty clear and engaging for in-walls.Installation was a snap - the screw-in dogs hold the speaker securely in the wall, and still allow some adjustment for leveling. The magnetic grilles are great, although they may take a degree of futzing with to get them to sit flat against the wall around the edges.Pricing is pretty decent, and a worthwhile upgrade over the cheapest in-walls you can buy. As a professional AV guy, the highest recommendation I can give is that I would choose these if I was spending my own money. Granted, I lust after things like B&W's Nautilus in-walls from a few years back, and I might be convinced to shell out for something like Definitive Technology's higher end in-walls in the most important rooms, but for non-critical listening, these would be perfect

Great speakers

2026-01-17    -Simon

I installed this as my surround Left & Right speakers in the basement. The front speakers I installed are the 265-RT models and love the sound quality of them all! I also have V60 ceiling speakers for the atmos feel and the 255C for the centre. Polk in wall speakers are great!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, excellent look

2026-02-19    -Amazon Customer

I just installed four of these in my living room. I chose these over the slightly cheaper Polk in-wall speakers because of their appearance. I wanted something as thin as possible, with a nice looking grill, that would blend right in to the walls. I found precisely that with these speakers. And they sound great too.They were pretty easy to install, though I have some past experience working with drywall. You definitely want to explore your wall ahead of time, as it really stinks to cut a big hole in your wall, only to find there is lumber in there that will either block the speaker, or block the running of the wire. (Use a stud finder, make sure the studs are far enough apart to fit the speaker, and make sure there is no wood blocking below the speaker that will prevent fishing the wire. Once you think you have your spot, poke a small hole in the drywall, slide a coat hanger into the wall and feel around to make sure the space is clear. Only after doing both of those, put up the template using a level, and then cut the hole)My wife wants to paint them, which has me a little worried. They say they are paintable, but I worry about clogging the grills. I'll post an update after we do that, and let you know how it turns out.

Great Value

2026-02-06    -earl

Easy to install, look great, sound better!!

Great sound.

2026-03-05    -HP

Great sound. Love the look. Install was straightforward. Could use a little better documentation.

3.0 out of 5 stars Average sound quality

2025-12-25    -DBold

There are cheaper in-wall speakers that sound much better. I have had these for several years now. The sound quality is good, but I have found cheaper in-walls that sound much better for half the price.

These work really well as your front right and left speakers.

2026-01-08    -KC88

I have these at ear height and at the same height my Polk CSi A6 Centre channel.When I had first set up my system, the subs weren't working in some situations. For example, when playing Spotify music. I have to say that the speakers alone providing the bass was quite impressive! I had to put my ear to the subs to make sure they were on or off.Now with the everything working as usual, the subs make a huge difference but that accidental test gave me alot of confidence in these speakersMy walls are grey and I decided to leave the grills white and I think they look nice. The thin bezel is really nice and really do look built in.For your reference I am using these speakers as my front R/L speakers in a 5.2.4 Dolby Atmos setup. .The other speakers are:Center - CSi A6Subs - BIC America PL-200 and Mirage Nano Sub (made by klipsh 8")Height - Polk MC80 x 4 (Front and rear height)Rear - Polk MC80 (I put the ceiling speakers in wall and it works well)