Yamaha NS-IC800 140 Watt 8-Inch 2-Way In-Ceiling Speakers - Pair (White)

I bought two pairs of these for my living room surround sound. I have a dedicated home theater, but we of course use the living room the most. When the house was built, speaker wires were ran in the ceilings already, but not to the walls. The holes were about 20 inches away from the wall.Not wanting to run wires to the walls or mount speakers on the ceiling, I opted for the in-ceiling route. I was able to pick these up on sale for $99 per pair. If you can wait, wait for the price to drop, which it frequently does.Installation was easy and mount very flush. The cutout template they provide is very sturdy and makes it easy to trace the hole. Our 2nd story is above the ceiling I mounted them in, so there was no way to see where the joists were. I used a thin knife and make holes ever 90 degrees around the template to make sure that it was clear. The tabs lock securely in place and grill is magnetic and snaps flush with the ceiling.Overall the speaker seems very well made. The binding posts are the push spring type which I love. They hold the wires securely and make installation a breeze. The tweeter can swivel 15 degrees in any direction as well. Not sure how much of a difference it makes acoustically, but it’s a nice touch.The sound quality was above what I was expecting. The range is broad and full, hitting highs and lows well, and transitioning smoothly. I turned my subwoofer off to see how the bass sounded with Bob Marley and it sounded great. Of course a subwoofer is still recommend for home theater viewing, but if you just want it for music, perhaps a subwoofer isn’t needed.

Great speakers for my purpose, which was in ceiling atmos surround to mate with my new A/V receiver. Don't know where they measure the 8 inches from but no matter. Slick install system and very inconspicuous when mounted.My only issue was getting covers as I could not find any that seemed appropriate for my attic. Returned two different sets as they were cheap and not suited to my purpose. Solution was 2 larger plastic bowls (both for under $5 at walmart!), put some heat resistant insulation inside and didn't even need to fasten them down as my attic insulation and boards held them in! Sound great too....just thought I'd mention this in case anyone else had this issue....

I compared these to the Polk. The difference in the build quality is obvious. These also have a reduced visual impact because they have a clever full coverage magnetic grill (Polk has a plastic bezel around the edge which is more noticable). Yahama has also enclosed the electronics so no concerns with insulation dust impacting performance (Polk electronics are exposed). Yamaha uses gold plated high force spring connections (Polk uses cheap tin plated push ins).The sound is clear and crisp on these Yamahas with plenty of punchy depth. These speakers are capable of generating quite a bit of bass which is most notable in the floor above. Upstairs it sounds like a subwoofer when the volume is cranked up. I've experienced zero distortion at loud volumes. At the same time the sound quality is not sacrificed at lower background volumes either. I'm also impressed with how efficient these speakers are. They are much louder at the same volume than the theater solutions in ceiling speakers at my last house.A couple of tips for installation. If you are doing a new build get the rough in brackets. Not only do they make the drywall cutouts a breeze but they also distribute the force of the toggle screws across more sheetrock area. I feel this makes a difference in the longevity of the sheetrock with all the vibrations. Get the brackets from HTD for $10 each. They are the best and cheapest you will find and they fit like a glove on these Yamahas.For new build I also recommend building an enclosure in the ceiling with joist sized dimensional lumber. Then stuff with mineral wool insulation to limit noise transmission to the floor above and to smooth out the bass response.Overall I'm very pleased with the Yamahas. It's a huge difference in sound and build quality from comparably and cheaper priced speakers. I'm sure there is some difference with B&W and other brands selling speakers for $300 each... but I wasn't willing to spend the time or money to find out.

8” woofer sounds great in any room. Handles good bass and sounds crystal clear. Super easy to install. Put them in a kitchen for a friend and he loves them. Definitely recommended

I rate these speakers high because they are a fit for the purpose in which I use them. They are a decent home surround sound speaker that do a good job of movie sound reproduction. I use them with a Pioneer VSX-1121-K home theater amp. They do a good job of reporducing low and high background movie sounds and bringing the movie to life. Movie background sounds are clear. The speaker has a good base sound and will produce sound with power, which is good when viewing movies with robust sound tracks. The speaker is better at lower base sounds than higher end frequency reproduction but overall gives a good movie reproduction. As for music, I find the speaker lacking in Quality reproduction but that was not the reason I purchased the speaker. I would not use these speakers as my primary music speaker. Mainly due to the less than adequate high frequency reproduction for music. The speaker is average at music reproduction and are not in the same arena as my old Bose 501's. Again, I purchased these speakers for surround sound movie viewing and I am happy with them in that regard and I would purchase them again for the same purpose, but for music I switch speaker sources on my amp. The installation is easy but does not include the installation of the wiring for those out there who are not aware. I found having an electric jig saw to cut the sheet rock beneficial. They are sturdy and secure once installed and the installation directions provided are good.