It was a collaboration that raised a few eyebrows: Ikea and Sonos were going to work together. The result of this collaboration are two multi-room speakers that you will soon be able to buy at Ikea. With a price of 99 euros, the Ikea SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker is the cheapest Sonos speaker you can buy. A good alternative to Sonos' own entry-level speaker? We tested it.
Ikea SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker
Price: € 99,-Connections: Ethernet or WiFi
Streaming services: Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, JUKE, Napster, TuneIn, Google Play Music and more
Format: 31 x 15 x 10 centimeters
Weight: 2.16 kg
Colors: Black and white
App: Sonos for Android and iOS
Website: www.ikea.nl
8 Score 80
- Pros
- sharp price
- Good service
- Flexible setup
- Good sound quality
- Negatives
- Sounds just a bit thinner than Sonos One
- No smart assistant
With the SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker (and the Table Lamp introduced at the same time), Ikea makes its introduction to the world of multi-room audio. They do this together with Sonos, probably the most famous player in this field. Entirely in tradition, Ikea does that for competitive prices: 99 euros for a real Sonos speaker is a price that was not considered possible until recently. In itself, the relatively low price can be seen in the Ikea SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker. The housing is made of plastic and not of wood, plywood or MDF. But on the other hand, a Sonos One consists largely of plastic. With a size of 31 x 15 x 10 centimeters, this Ikea-Sonos is larger than the Sonos One. Nice is that you can hang it as a bookshelf on the wall with an optional mounting set. Moreover, you can place it both horizontally and vertically.
Full Sonos
I am an avid Sonos user myself and have added Ikea's SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker to my multi-room sound system that includes a number of Play:1 speakers. On the software side, Ikea's speaker works identically to any other Sonos speaker, running the same firmware version as the other Sonos speakers. With this speaker, you can do everything in the app, including, of course, streaming music from your favorite source. The physical interface with three buttons is also identical and even the network connection in case the wireless coverage is not sufficient is simply present. You can also link two copies to a stereo pair and the speakers are suitable for linking with Sonos' soundbars. That makes this competitively priced loudspeaker extra interesting.
Is there really nothing missing at all? However, unlike modern Sonos speakers such as the One, there is no microphone to talk directly to Google Assistant or Alexa. Not a big deal for me, but depending on your wishes, that could be a deal breaker.
Technic
The design of the SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker is somewhat reminiscent of Sonos' own Play:3 from the past. But that's only the horizontal shape, this cheap multi-room speaker doesn't contain a real stereo system like the Play:3. Like the Sonos Play:1 or successor Sonos One, Ikea's SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker combines one midwoofer and one tweeter. They are, however, smaller ones. Where the Play:1 and One contain a 3.5-inch midwoofer, a 3-inch midwoofer has been chosen in this speaker. A difference with Sonos' own speakers is that a bass reflex system is used on this Ikea SYMFONISK to support the lower tones of the midwoofer.
Sound quality
Songs like Get Lucky by Daft Punk or Africa by Toto sound slightly flatter than on the Play:1, but the beats of, for example, Still D.R.E. rumble nicely from this speaker. As far as I'm concerned there is no dramatic difference in sound quality: it is mainly just a slightly different sound and relatively high numbers come out very well. If you only listen to the SYMFONISK, you probably won't hear the difference. Ikea's SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker is perfectly capable of filling a 30 square meter room with music. This is therefore an excellent speaker for the bedroom or the home office, exactly the environments where the Play:1 or One also excel. Like Sonos' own speakers, you can also combine two speakers into a stereo pair, something that provides a significantly better sound experience with the Play:1. Unfortunately I only had one speaker to try
Conclusion
Ikea's SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker can't compete with a Sonos Play:1 or Sonos One in terms of sound quality. But I had not immediately expected that given the much lower price. Sonos and Ikea have managed to come eerily close. In a direct comparison, Ikea's speaker certainly sounds less full than a Sonos Play:1. However, if you listen to the Ikea SYMFONISK separately, the difference is not so clear. Just like the Play:1 or One, this is a great speaker to provide music in a room such as the bedroom. It is smart from Ikea to piggyback on the Sonos system for multiroom. Instead of inventing the wheel themselves, they immediately put an excellent system on the market. Add to that the fact that thanks to Ikea you can get a real Sonos multi-room speaker for only 99 euros and you just have a great product. This is certainly also an interesting speaker as a back channel for Sonos's soundbar. In short: a great move from Ikea. You can actually buy the speaker in August.
