# In-Wall Speaker Box Solutions?



## Darius2010

Hello Everyone! 

I am swapping out my floor standing towers (Polk Audio RT600i) for in-wall LCR (Klipsch R-5502's). I don't want to just pop 'em in the wall because I know the mid bass will suffer. I am looking @ Dynamat Enwall but I haven't seen any reviews on it. I've used Dynamat in my car and swear by it so I'm assuming their home products will be just as good. 

Does anyone know how to build an in-wall speaker box and would that solution work better than Dynamat's solution? 

What about purchasing a bag of pink insulation from Home Depot and filling the wall cavity around the speaker? 

Any and all suggestions are appreciated. 

Thanks! 

Darius2010

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## Matteo

Hi Darius.
If you have not purchased the Klipsch already, you might consider upgrading to the KL 7800's. They already have the box built onto them. I know they cost more, but you will probably get better performance. I am not a "box" expert, but I know in-walls are designed, as are all speakers, with certain uses in mind. Crossovers and such are set based on the infinite baffle design. You might negatively influence the sound by building a box that isn't a proper "fit" for your speaker (of course, you might make it sound better too). That being said, I have known several people that have built boxes on their speakers and they all sounded fine. I never did an A/B comparison, so I don't know if it sounded better or worse, but it sounded good. If you want to make a box it helps to use wood glue and caulk to seal all of the edges. I have also seen insulation stuffed around the enclosure. If you look on the DIY speaker site or sub site, you will find a spray on coating that you could use to cover the inside of the box. It would probably serve you well and cost less than Dynamat. If you are trying to reduce sound transmission to the back wall, you will want to make sure the box is not touching the back wall and insulate well.


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## Darius2010

Thank you! The KL-7802 speakers are awesome. They are a little bigger than what I was looking for and outside of my budget @ $1,000 each. After reading your post, I did a search for other Klipsch in-walls with a sealed back that were Reference Series or THX and found the KL-6502-THX. Now I'm truly conflicted because I've already run the wires, measure the cutouts and started the plans around the R-5502. Not really a big deal because they are the same size but one of the major differences between the KL-6502 & the R-5502 is that the latter has a swiveling tweeter so I can direct the highs to the listening position. Not sure of there is a noticeable difference between the Cerametallic cone and the Woven Fiber cone.

Conflicted...


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## Matteo

Darius, I may be wrong, but I don't think the KL-6502 has a back on it. It is still listed as an infinite baffle design, meaning it is open on the back. I would double check the source that said it had a box on it. A company that has a similar sound to Klipsch, is Atlantic Technology. Their smaller speaker in this series might work for you and I think would be more around your price range if you look around. These all have built in boxes. 

http://www.atlantictechnology.com/default.asp?NodeId=67

What part of the country do you live in?


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## Darius2010

I'm in Cali (SF Bay Area). I have sooo much to learn. I did a little reading today and learned that Infinite Baffle subwoofers are more efficient than sealed or ported. Does the same apply to IB inwall speakers? Is it possible that I could ruin the sound of speakers designed to be free air by sealing them in a box or adding insulation to that wall? 

Thanks! 

Darius

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## Darius2010

*Thank you to everyone that replied. *

I did more homework and decided that the better in-wall solution for my front stage is the Polk Audio LCi Series (http://www.polkaudio.com/customaudio/lci/index.php?s=lci265#overview). I will be installing the center channel this weekend and will take pics for HTS. I like that the LCi Series has one woofer dedicated to frequencies below 200 Hz, one for 200Hz & above, and ring radiator tweeters. There's also an optional Polk Custom Performance Enclosure. 

LCi-C








http://www.polkaudio.com/customaudio/lci/index.php?s=lci265#lci-c

LC265i








http://www.polkaudio.com/customaudio/lci/index.php?s=lci265


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## Matteo

This sounds like a good way to go. The optional enclosures will be made with your specific speaker in mind and should improve the performance. It will also help limit sound transmission, if that is an issue for you. Congrats. Post the pics when you get them.

matteo


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## Italianwinelover

Hi Darius,

I have purchased all Polk LCi series speakers and am trying to make a decision on enclosure options as well. I realize this post of yours is old but wanted to get some advice. Also, general feedback on how you like the Polks?...


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## nova

Couple of comments. A back box is not really the same thing as a rear enclosure. Back boxes are used to keep the sound from migrating into other rooms. It may or may not improve the sound of the speaker, if they give you an option to add an enclosure I would seriously question it. A speaker is designed for an IB application or it is designed with an engineered enclosure, not both.

Personally I would suggest you do a little more research before you plunk down the cash and check into manufacturers who work really hard at getting the most out of in-wall speakers . My very short list;
Triad
RBH Sound
Snell
James Loudspeaker
Atlantic Technology

but that's just me


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