Polk Audio RC80i Review - Premium Ceiling Speakers

We already reviewed the extremely good but also extremely expensive MC80 last month, but what about a premium Polk speaker that costs about half the price? Same driver size, same company. How will it stand up? The Polk Audio RC80i we are reviewing today is a high-end in-ceiling speaker with a big 8-inch diaphragm driver and versatile 1-inch tweeter. We recently installed a set, and here are our impressions.

The Concept

The Polk RC line sits under the company's designated models. However, that doesn’t exactly put them into the budget category as they are still a pricey pair at $100 a unit, according to Polk’s RRP. The concept of this one is to provide nearly the same sound but with a more friendly budget. There are a sweet spot in-ceiling speakers as most users want to install units in multiple rooms. Polk is banking on cutting the costs where it counts most and not sacrificing performance, so there are some crucial design tweaks between this and the more expensive models.

Build and Aesthetic Impressions

Im getting a bit repetitive now that I have done so many in-ceiling speaker reviews, but there is so little to say; once installed with the grills on, they all look virtually identical.

The speaker looks like a ceiling speaker, it is available in only white, but the protective grills are paintable. I, of course, suggest recommending removing the grill and paint before installation. As for paint type, anything goes, really, most people use the emulsion pain on their walls, but if you are installing outdoors, I will opt for waterproof paint.

Build quality is generally very good, mainly high-quality plastics are used on the backside. The twist-to-lock mounting system was nice and felt far more robust than cheaper pressure fit systems.

Sound

Luckily, I did get to try the MC80 and RC80 next to each other for a brief period, and I can tell you that the performance is even closer than you might have thought. The biggest difference seems to be in the clarity in the high notes, with the advantage going to the MC range. However, the highs of the RC are no slouch either, with good clarity and a nice sparkle that doesn’t become fatiguing through sibilance.

The midrange is where things start to sound very Polk. The company has a house sound that leans slightly warm and lush creating a very enjoyable casual listening experience. Through this, vocals and stringed instruments sound best with good weight and intimacy to them. Male vocals, in particular, stand out as weighty yet detailed.

The bass really hits hard and negates the need to include a separate subwoofer into the system. It had a growling sub-bass response, and when playing about with EQ settings and the right track, I thought the ceiling was going to collapse on my head. The rumble down low but through the mid-bass remains tight and punched with good detail. They aren’t the fastest in the bass, but crucially there is no bleed into the midrange, which is the tendency of so many cheaper models we have tested.

Clarity and imaging are above what we would normally expect, but a lot of the performance will depend on the room's layout. Our test room did have some sound planning and lots of soft surfaces to absorb sonic reflections, so overall, the Polk RC80 I sounded fantastic.

Final Verdict?

The Polk RC80i might be a bit more expensive than some of the budget ceiling speakers we have reviewed in the past months, but that price differential is there for a reason. They sound ridiculously close to the far more expensive MC80, which are very highly regarded, so, in that sense, these can be considered a bit of a bargain. The big 8-inch woofer delivers powerful bass, and the build quality is great as well. All in, it’s a very easy speaker for us to recommend.

Official website of the Polk RC80i: www.polkaudio.com