Polk Audio 265 RT vs Focal 300 IW6 LCR Comparison

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Polk Audio 265 RT

Passive In-wall | 45-25kHz

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Focal 300 IW6 LCR

Passive In-wall | 40-28kHz

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Polk Audio 265 RT

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Focal 300 IW6 LCR

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Polk Audio 265 RT

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Focal 300 IW6 LCR

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Polk Audio 265 RT vs Focal 300 IW6 LCR Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing 265 RT and 300 IW6 LCR, two Passive In-wall speakers from Polk Audio and Focal.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Polk Audio 265 RT and Focal 300 IW6 LCR first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Polk Audio 265 RT	Focal 300 IW6 LCR
Brand	Polk Audio United States · founded 1972	Focal France · founded 1979
Design	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1" Soft-Dome	1" Inverted Hard-Dome
Midrange	—	4"
Woofer	2 x 6.5" Polymer Composite	2 x 6.5" Flax
Frequency response	45-25kHz	40-28kHz
Sensitivity	91 dB	92 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	10-200 watts	50-150 watts
Weight	—	5.62kg / 12.4lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	19.1875" x 7.2500" x 3-9/16" 488.0 x 185.0 x 90.4mm	22.5000" x 7.5000" x 4.0000" 572.0 x 191.0 x 102.0mm

What size room are the Polk Audio 265 RT and Focal 300 IW6 LCR speakers good for?

The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size and max power parameters:

Listening Environment*	Polk Audio 265 RT	Focal 300 IW6 LCR
Near-field	Poor	Poor
Small Room	Average	Average
Mid-size Room	Good	Good
Large Room	Average	Average
Very Large Room	Poor	Poor

(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m², Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m², Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m², Very Large: > 400 sq. ft / 36 m². Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening position, speaker locations, etc.)

The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.

Drivers

One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that 265 RT is a 2-way design whereas the 300 IW6 LCR is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.

Polk Audio 265 RT

Focal 300 IW6 LCR

TweeterMidrangeWoofer

Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.

Driver	Polk Audio 265 RT	Focal 300 IW6 LCR
Driver Setup	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1-inch
Midrange	-	1 x 4-inch
Woofer	2 x 6.5-inch	2 x 6.5-inch

265 RT features a 1" Soft-Dome Tweeter and 2 x 6.5" Polymer Composite Woofer. On the other hand, the 300 IW6 LCR features a 1" Inverted Hard-Dome Tweeter, a 4" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Flax Woofer.

Frequency Response

265 RT has a frequency range of 45-25kHz whereas 300 IW6 LCR has a frequency range of 40-28kHz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the 300 IW6 LCR can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the 265 RT's min frequency of 45Hz.

The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the In-wall class in our database.

Low Frequency

In-wall Speakers

265 RT

300 IW6 LCR

Min

Average

Median

Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.

Impedance and Sensitivity

265 RT and 300 IW6 LCR have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. 265 RT sensitivity is rated at 91 dB and the 300 IW6 LCR's is at 92 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Focal 300 IW6 LCR a more sensitive speaker compared to Polk Audio 265 RT, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

In-wall Speakers

265 RT

300 IW6 LCR

Min

Average

Median

Power Range

Power range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.

265 RT can handle a max power of 200 watts RMS, whereas 300 IW6 LCR has a max power handling value of 150 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the 265 RT.

Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays on a real amplifier.

Which plays louder on your amplifier?

Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are considering, and watch both numbers move.

Amplifier - change this

Distance

Playing as

Polk Audio 265 RT

Focal 300 IW6 LCR

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

265 RT features Spring post type posts and 300 IW6 LCR has a Spring post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.

Physical Specs

The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Polk Audio 265 RT's and Focal 300 IW6 LCR's external dimensions. Polk Audio 265 RT has external dimensions of 488.0 x 185.0 x 90.4mm (19.1875-inch x 7.2500-inch x 0.0000-inch) whereas Focal 300 IW6 LCR has external dimensions of 572.0 x 191.0 x 102.0mm (22.5000-inch x 7.5000-inch x 4.0000-inch).

Focal 300 IW6 LCR is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 6mm wider, 84mm taller and 11.6mm deeper than Polk Audio 265 RT.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Polk Audio 265 RT and Focal 300 IW6 LCR in scale.

Comparison image of Polk Audio 265 RT and Focal 300 IW6 LCR Size and External Dimensions

What's in the Box of Polk Audio 265 RT?

Here are the items that are included inside the box of 265 RT:

In-wall speaker
Foam rubber port plug
White metal grille
Mounting template
Owners Manual
Sheer-Grille Painting instructions
Online Registration Card
Polk Audio product brochure

What's in the Box of Focal 300 IW6 LCR?

Here are the items that come with the 300 IW6 LCR:

One in-wall speaker
1 metal-mesh grill (white)
23.5

Reasons to choose Polk Audio 265 RT over Focal 300 IW6 LCR

Max Input Power	200 watts vs 150 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Height	488mm vs 572mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Base Surface Area	167cm² vs 194cm²	Takes less floor space
Price per pair*	558USD vs 2398USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Reasons to choose Focal 300 IW6 LCR over Polk Audio 265 RT

Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	92 dB vs 91 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Low Frequency Response	40 Hz vs 45 Hz	Generates deeper bass
High Frequency Response	28k Hz vs 25k Hz	Generates higher frequency

Polk Audio 265 RT vs Focal 300 IW6 LCR Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Polk Audio 265 RT	Focal 300 IW6 LCR
Brand	Polk Audio	Focal
Speaker Type	Passive In-wall Speaker	Passive In-wall Speaker
Power Range	10-200 watts	50-150 watts
Sensitivity	91 dB	92 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response	45-25kHz	40-28kHz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	2	2
Woofer Size	6.5"	6.5"
Woofer Composition	Polymer Composite	Flax
Woofer Surround Material	Rubber	Rubber
Tweeter Size	1"	1"
Tweeter Type	Soft-Dome	Inverted Hard-Dome
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	No	4"
Physical Specs
Height	488.0mm (19.2")	572.0mm (22.5")
Width	185.0mm (7.3")	191.0mm (7.5")
Depth	90.4mm (3.6")	102.0mm (4")
Weight	n/a	5.62kg (12.4lbs)
Enclosure	In-wall	In-wall
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	No	No
Other
Parts Warranty	Lifetime	5 Years
Labor Warranty	Lifetime	5 Years

Verdict

These sit in different price classes - Focal 300 IW6 LCR costs roughly 4.3x what Polk Audio 265 RT does. Expect it to lead on paper; the question is whether the gap is audible enough in your room to be worth it.

Area	Better	Why
Bass	B	Focal 300 IW6 LCR digs deeper - 40Hz against 45Hz. A subwoofer would even that out.
Amplifier needs	evenly matched	Similar sensitivity (91dB vs 92dB) - both want much the same power.
Headroom	A	Polk Audio 265 RT takes more power (200W vs 150W) - more in hand in a big room.
Size	depends	Polk Audio 265 RT is easier to place; Focal 300 IW6 LCR is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides.
Price	A	Polk Audio 265 RT is cheaper - $558 against $2,398, about 77% less; arguably a different class.

A Polk Audio 265 RT B Focal 300 IW6 LCR
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.

Which should you choose?

Neither runs away with it - they trade advantages. Let the "depends" rows and your own room settle it. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 45Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Polk Audio 265 RT much easier to justify. Think about the whole system, not just the speakers: the roughly $1,840 saved by taking the cheaper pair would buy a subwoofer or a better amplifier, and either usually does more for the sound than the difference between these two.

And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.