A hole in the ceiling is hard to undo. Before the hole saw bites, it is worth looking at the dimensions, the mounting and a few things best known before anything is plastered in — collected from many years of installation consulting.
Measure first, cut second
Every speaker set includes a cutting template — it is the authoritative measure. Important if you print a template as a PDF: printers like to scale without asking. Measure the inner circle before marking out. For orientation, the guide values from our consulting work:
| Model | Ceiling cut-out (approx.) | Mounting depth (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| CS200P | template 180 mm, min. approx. 172 mm | 75 mm |
| CS200S | 176 mm (min. approx. 174 mm) | see product page |
| CS234T | 6.5-inch class, see product page | see product page |
| CS180IP | 135–137 mm | 63 mm |
| CS120AL | 106 mm | 63 mm |
| CS195ST | 174 mm | 85 mm |
At 85 mm, the CS195ST is the deepest speaker in the range — with shallow cavities, check the available depth first. With its 106 mm cut-out, the CS120AL is the only option when ceiling space is really tight.
The ceiling cavity is the sound box
Lyndahl in-ceiling speakers need no enclosure — and none is available to buy. They use the cavity of the suspended ceiling as their resonance body. This has consequences: a very small cut-out in a concrete ceiling delivers hardly any bass, while a huge cavity makes the bass flatter — limiting the volume behind the speaker supports it. If you want to hear the approximate result before cutting: temporarily mount the speaker in a large cardboard box — it substitutes the ceiling’s sound body surprisingly well.
Plasterboard, concrete, solid walls
The standard models clamp themselves into panel ceilings with swivel wings — plasterboard and suspended ceilings are the ideal case, and entirely uncritical for the Bluetooth models’ reception too. The CS180IP is screwed rather than clamped. We do not carry installation boxes for concrete ceilings; installation in solid walls and ceilings is possible but considerably more involved — and the small cavity costs bass, as described.
Where to put the amplifier?
The Bluetooth amplifier works in Class D and develops hardly any heat — installing it in the suspended ceiling is common practice as long as the ventilation slots stay clear. It has no protection rating, though: it belongs in a dry area at −10 to +40 °C — in a bathroom, outside the wet zone. A socket in the suspended ceiling for the 12 V power supply belongs in the planning (and in the electrician’s hands). Switching it via the light switch or a remote-controlled socket is expressly harmless — pairings are retained.
Pull in the right cables straight away
- The sets include roughly 2.5–3 m of speaker cable per speaker (approx. 0.5 mm²) — entirely sufficient for short runs.
- For new runs, use 1 to 2.5 mm²; the amplifier-to-speaker run should not much exceed 10 m.
- Extending by twisting or with a terminal block is perfectly fine — just get the polarity (+/−) right.
- Our most important planning tip: pull in an additional two-core, shielded cable from the amplifier location to an accessible spot. If a TV or radio is ever to play in via AUX later, the path is already there — retrofitting is by far the most expensive exercise.
Small things that save trouble
The cover grilles are only pressed on and can be removed; if a grille buzzes on bass impulses, a strip of felt or foam rubber helps. The speakers are not ball-impact-proof — sports halls need an additional protective grille. And for real stereo: mount the two speakers with some distance between them, otherwise you give the effect away.
Which model suits the room and project is clarified in the model guide; pairing and unwanted access are covered in Pairing Bluetooth ceiling speakers.
