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

I always appreciate the many helpful detailed customer reviews found on Amazon, and I like to “pay it forward” with detailed reviews of my own. So here goes for my review and installation experience on the Yamaha 6.5” NSIC600WH in-ceiling speakers.By way of background, our new home was built with pre-wired home theater circuitry in our living room, and included two extra speaker outlets over our kitchen island. Despite the outrageous price our builder charged, we bit the bullet and had the living room in-ceiling speakers installed before we moved in. However, we held-off installing the two kitchen in-ceiling speakers to avoid the prohibitive additional cost, and the kitchen speaker wiring remained hidden under two ceiling blanking plates.Finally, after 4 years of living here I decided to install the two remaining speakers in our kitchen ceiling. There are numerous excellent Youtube videos available showing how to complete the installation process which was surprisingly easy with the proper tools. I watched a few of the install videos and moved on to researching the many in-ceiling speakers offered on Amazon Prime. The Yamaha 6.5” NSIC600WH 2-Way 110-Watts RMS speakers quickly caught my attention as I’d had Yamaha home theater speakers in our last home and I was very pleased with their sound quality and sturdy build. I ordered the Yamaha speakers, a 6” drywall saw (about $10 — and required for the install) and eight speaker banana plugs, all on Amazon Prime. I received them the following morning. This is the typical SUPERB 1-DAY SHIPPING we get with Amazon Prime in the Nashville area.The Yamaha speakers, drywall saw and banana plugs arrived carefully packaged and with no damage. The speaker box contained a very hefty cardboard cutout template which worked beautifully with a black Sharpie for marking the ceiling drywall cutout. I surveyed the ceiling first using a stud-finder to ensure the area above was clear for cutting. If you don’t have a stud-finder I recommend you purchase one on Amazon Prime as well. They’re not outrageously expensive and work beautifully locating studs hidden behind drywall. I removed the blanking plate covers and found the pre-wired speaker wire bundled-up inside. DO NOT cut/shorten the speaker wire. You may need it and it’s easily stored up inside the ceiling as you complete the speaker installI discovered the heavy gauge plastic junction box beneath the blanking plates was anchored with two nails on one side to a wooden ceiling truss. I cut a large exploratory hole using the drywall saw in the drywall area I was going to cut-out as part of the install, and used a nail puller to easily remove the two nails securing the junction box. I then cut out the template-outlined hole using the drywall saw. I tested the speakers and they fit snugly in the holes after some minor rotation to the left and right while pushing up. I added 2”-thick un-faced fiberglass insulation loosely in the area immediately above the speaker. This isn’t required…however it can help reduce noise in any room upstairs above any speaker location in a 2-story home such as ours. I then pulled the speaker wire out and installed the banana plugs, which are not required, however they ensure a very secure connection. I attached the banana plugs to the spring-loaded color-coded speaker terminals. I then placed the speakers up in the hole, rotating them left and right while pushing up to ensure the external flange was flush with the ceiling before tightening.CAUTION: ENSURE YOU ROTATE THE 4 PHILLIPS-HEAD ANCHOR SCREWS ABOUT ONE TURN COUNTER-CLOCKWISE BEFORE TIGHTENING THE SCREWS CLOCKWISE. This aids in extending the rather ingenious gripping claws used to secure the speakers. Follow the screw tightening order shown in the Yamaha owner’s manual. Also, ensure the external speaker flange is FLUSH WITH THE CEILING BEFORE you begin to tighten the 4 screws! Rotate the speaker left and right in the hole while pushing upward to ensure a flush fit. TIGHTEN THE 4 PHILLIPS-HEAD SCREWS WITH A SCREWDRIVER ONLY! DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN! OVER-TIGHTENING will break the drywall supporting the speaker.Once you’ve installed the speakers in the ceiling attach the speaker grilles which are held securely in place by several small magnets. INSTALLATION NOTE: Yamaha and other home theater receivers often REQUIRE YOU TO ACTIVATE/ADD new speakers as “Front Surround” or “Rear Surround” or whatever new position you’re adding to your existing speaker configuration. This is accomplished using the SPEAKER SETUP MENU on your receiver. Otherwise THE RECEIVER WILL NOT OUTPUT SOUND TO THE NEW SPEAKERS despite their being plugged in to the receiver’s speaker terminals. I’ve attached several photos of my install process below. These Yamaha NSIC600WH 6.5” in-ceiling speakers sound EXCELLENT at about one-fifth the cost of a professional install! I shouldn’t have waited four years to install them!

Look and sound amazing as the rear speakers in my surround setup.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Don’t waste time shopping around. These work great.

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 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.

i'm happy with my purchase. The price was good and the sound was good.

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