You can't rush a good thing, and some things just aren't ready until they're ready. With electronics, coming to market too early usually means a product that's lacking in features, full of bugs, and short on performance.
|
What We Think
|
| You get freestanding-speaker sound with an in-wall footprint from Polk's forward-looking IP speakers, but it's gonna cost you. |
SETUP I've never before installed a pair of speakers and thought, "Man, I hope this works." But the LC265i-IPs are no ordinary speakers, and installing them is more like adding a device to your home network.
In-wall speakers should be auditioned in walls, and Polk obliged by sending pre-built wall sections made from framing and sheetrock. For the best sound — that is, tighter low- and mid-bass — and to eliminate rattles, Polk installed its Performance Enclosures (55.6 x 14 x 3.4 inches, $250 each). Unless you plan on some massive drywall repair, these enclosures should be installed during new construction.
The Polks are self-amplified and can function in a traditional audio system. They have RCA line-level inputs that accept the stereo output from your receiver's pre-outs or mulitzone output. Both left and right signals go to one speaker designated as the "control" by flipping three dip switches on the speaker's back. Cat-5 cabling links the two speakers together.
Since both speakers are triamplified (200 watts total: 100 watts to the woofer, 75 watts to the midrange driver, and 25 watts to the tweeter), they also need power, which is carried over a 4-conductor wire running back to a Polk Audio SPS-1 power supply ($700).
These speakers aren't really about analog audio, however; their hook is streaming music over an IP network. By keeping the full-bandwidth signal digital all the way up to the onboard power amplifiers, you have purer fidelity, with no signal loss or any chance of picking up line noise.
Streaming music using the NetStreams DigiLinX system meant installing another accessory — a NetStreams StreamNet card ($500). This requires removing the heat sinks and amplifier, then plugging the card into its slot and screwing it down (only one card is required per pair of speakers). Cat-5 cabling runs from the network router (a NetStreams SwitchLinX in my case) and connects to the StreamNet card; the speakers are linked and powered in the same manner as an analog setup.
Following the initial setup, I ran the Performance Optimization Wizard (POW) software on my PC. This leads you through a simple interview to tweak the speakers' DSP for best sound in your room, correcting for anomalies such as boomy or muddy bass caused by less-than-ideal placement.
Another killer benefit to the Polk Audio LC265i-IPs when used in an IP system is that each speaker or pair becomes an independent controllable zone. So you can actually log in to the speakers with a Web browser to select sources, change volume, and make bass/midrange/treble adjustments.
PERFORMANCE I sat back to finally see what these babies could do (quickly, before my wife got home and forced me to explain the sudden appearance of freestanding 7-foot walls in our living room).
Funny thing: At first, I got audio from only half of the connected sources. A call to NetStreams' tech support suggested I try upgrading the firmware in the speakers. Of course! Update the firmware in my speakers, just like I always do! Then, a loose connection on the cable linking the two speakers suddenly caused the left channel to play at only two volume levels — off, and balls-to-the-walls wide open. Yeow!
Once order was restored, they sounded pretty remarkable — up there with the best in-walls that I've heard. In-wall speakers struggle with bass: Either they can't reproduce any, or they turn it into a booming mush. But the Polks kept it tight, punchy, and deep; they can definitely stand on their own for music listening. (Of course, you'll need a subwoofer for movies, but that's true for nearly any speaker.)
|
The Short Form
|
| $1,449 Each Plus Accessories / 20.7 X 8.5 X 3.3 IN / 8.7 LBS / polkaudio.com / 800-377-7655 |
|
Plus
|
| •Excellent sound quality •Ends performance-vs.-décor debate •Software to tweak sound for your room •Cutting-edge IP technology |
|
Minus
|
| •Expensive •Requires DigiLinX for IP functions  |
|
Key Features
|
| •3-way in-wall loudspeaker; 6.5-in aerated polypropylene-cone woofer, 6.5-in polypropylene midrange, 1-in ring-radiator tweeter •200 watts total power: woofer 100 watts, midrange 75 watts, tweeter 25 watts •Requires Polk Audio SPS-1 power supply ($700); Polk Audio Performance Enclosures ($250 each) recommended •Tweeter adjustable up to 15 degrees •Line-level analog audio input •IP addressable with addition of NetStreams StreamNet card ($500) •Includes Performance Optimization Wizard (POW) software to correct for placement and room acoustics and adjust bass, midrange, and treble levels •Price $1,449 each ($4,600 as tested) Full Lab Results |
Speakers are often described as "laid-back" or "forward" in their character. The Polks fall into the latter group, bringing vocals and instruments out into the room. The tweeter is quick and lively, leaning towards bright, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, when listening to compressed MP3 and WMA files, the LC265i-IP's restored some richness and depth to the recordings. Still, some material that was already bright-sounding — such as the audience applause at the end of each track on Diana Krall's Live in Paris CD — could become shrill when played loud, forcing me to cut back on volume.
Lately I've been on a jazz binge, and these speakers loved everything I threw at them. They create a wide soundstage, able to fill a large space with music. Consistently, music seemed to reach far beyond the speaker locations, but at the expense of pinpoint imaging. The first track on Miles Davis's seminal Kind of Blue is "So What," and the Polks laid out the performers as clearly as if you were in the studio with them, with enough detail to let you follow any instrument.
Rebecca Pidgeon's The Raven is a wonderfully recorded CD, and I love her version of "Spanish Harlem." The Polks captured the right depth and texture of the subtle bass, while keeping Rebecca's voice in the center. The recording has tons of ambience, and the Polks conveyed the spaciousness of the venue.
The LC265i-IPs have a very warm, rich midrange, and made husky-voiced singers like Fiona Apple sound fuller than any in-walls have a right to — she sounded as if she were right in the room with me. I've heard Apple in concert, and the Polks portrayed all of the brooding and anger she poured into Tidal, giving her voice a breathy, velvety quality. Their ability to handle big bass was also evident; when "Sleep to Dream" came on, the song's drums poured out in a prodigious, couch-shaking rumble.
Genius Loves Company by Ray Charles features some terrific duets, including "Fever" with Natalie Cole. The Polks delivered the fleshy quality of the finger-snaps and responded quickly to Natalie's shouts of "fever!" and the band's accompanying musical attacks.
BOTTOM LINE Polk Audio did its homework, and these speakers are a technology statement. Their ability to stream audio over IP is unique, though maybe too much so — at least for the moment, you can use that function only with a NetStreams DigiLinX system. But, they sound great, and I say that without the backhanded disclaimer "for an in-wall." If I have one serious complaint, it's their cost: As tested, my pair of Polk Audio LC265i-IP in-wall speakers would run $4,600 including the speakers, acoustic enclosures, StreamNet card, and power supply. That's $1,600 more than Polk's flagship towers and enough to buy a serious pair of speakers and amplification. Still, if you demand high-performance audio from an in-wall installation, you owe it to yourself to audition this breakthrough speaker.
Read the Full Lab Results
Back to Homepage
What's New on S&V