Good inexpensive in-wall speaker
Pros:
Inexpensive, easy to install, pleasant sounding speaker.
Cons:
If you need a full range speaker, you will need to spend much more.
The Bottom Line:
Inexpensive, easy to install, good sounding inwall speaker.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I'm not an expert on in-wall speakers; I simply purchased this for a room that needed a pair of rear surrounds based on my experience with Polk speakers.
I have a pair of older in-walls and am very happy with them. These, as the older ones that I installed, come with a wall template to insure an accurate cut. The RC60i has 2 templates which is nice if you bung one up. Once you have the hole cut, you simply connect your speaker wire with the standard spring clip terminal. They do not have banana or spade connection available, but this speaker is not for a high-end installation. Then you simply push the speaker into the hole, and turn the 4 screws that have a cog that latches over the hole in the sheetrock. Once you turn the screw about 1/2 turn, the cog is fully engaged. I simply turned each of the 4 screw about 1 turn and then I could let the speaker hang down from the hole as I turned each screw all the way until the speaker was tight against the sheetrock.
My ceiling is white, and the speakers matched almost perfectly. The speaker and grill are paintable if you need to match to a different color.
I then aimed the aimable tweeter to the desired location by listening as I moved it about. The tweeter can be positioned probably 30 degrees in any direction off of the straight axis. This is nice as the frequencies that come from the tweeter can be localized easily as they stay in a cone shape as they emanate from the speakers. This adjustment allows you to get them to cover the area that you want them to cover.
With the speakers connected and adjusted, the grills simply snap into place. The grills are a bit difficult to get off, even out of the box for the installation. I used a small screwdriver and pried around the entire speaker several times to avoid scratching the finish. My point is to make sure you are done with your adjustments before you put the grill on.
The sound from these small speakers is very nice. Again, these are not audiophile speakers, but for the price, they have a very full sound. I didn't use my SPL meter to measure the output, but I would guess that sound output goes down to around 70Hz. There is no deep bass. The speakers sound very flat, not emphasized in any region.
If you are looking for a full range speaker, going well below the 70Hz, you will need to spend many times more. But if you are looking for a surround speaker, or a general full house speaker system speaker, this is a fine, easy to install speaker. I paid $120 for the pair online, they retail for $219.
