Ikea SYMFONISK Picture Frame Speaker Review

[Chromatischism]

@amirm , is this the first speaker review where your subjective impressions are surprisingly different than the objective measurements - what other speakers have similarly surprised you like this? Many will point to this review as a fine example of why measurements don't tell the whole story and why nothing can replace in person listening. Did the Dynaudio Core sound better than its measurements or did its price raise expectations too high (to Genelec/Nuemann levels)?

I don't understand why people think the measurements are bad for this.

Not only is there some error in the measurements here, but consider what that graph would look like on-wall and with a little smoothing to show how we actually hear music. I think the overall trend is good.

 

[cbracer]

Correct, the measurements are not done with a wall. But besides that, IF we are to make some conclusions about the data measurements.... for most people like myself that are studying the data, we see spikes and valley's that Amir would easily complain about on other speakers. As typical there are variations in Amir's reviews and here with this speaker these peaks and valley's are ignored. Maybe because he likes it. So it's hard to fully understand the review when sometimes the reviews are very critical in the data and other times it's not. Granted this speaker sounds better on the wall Amir found - so rightfully he isn't complaining about the frequency response uneveness which for the some of us are saying wait a second, this measurement is kinda crappy. There are plenty of other reviews where complaints were made about uneven response of peaks and valleys. I think the raw data of real measurements is very noisy because we have to keep applying filters, and in my data analysis world, that either means bad resolution, sample rates, or not enough data samples given the huge frequency response we are trying to capture it's likely that latter. Hence filters.

 

[bobster]

It won't surprise me if these get discontinued quickly as some Ikea stuff only lasts a year or two before they move onto something else.

It’s just one data point, but the first Symfonisk speaker, released in 2019, is still around.

 

[cbracer]

It’s just one data point, but the first Symfonisk speaker, released in 2019, is still around.

The table lamp speaker is now discontinued, so it lasted less than 2 years? Hopefully the bookshelf and picture frame will sell better.

 

[amirm]

As typical there are variations in Amir's reviews and here with this speaker these peaks and valley's are ignored. Maybe because he likes it.

There is no "maybe" here. I did like the sound. And when I do, I report it, any conflict with measurements be damned. As I have said repeatedly, I can't lie in my reviews. You are welcome to just put priority on the measurements. I can't solve all of these complex problems. I wish the measurements were 100% instructive and then I would not even need to listen. But we are not there.

 

[amirm]

The table lamp speaker is now discontinued, so it lasted less than 2 years? Hopefully the bookshelf and picture frame will sell better.

I have a bad feeling these things will all follow the same trend. SONOS is not going to promote this product like they do their own. And for Ikea, this is like a lamp shade to sell. They had two dedicated areas for these that were nicely done. But not a single person in sight to explain or show anything. Audio will not sell this way.

 

[amirm]

Also, when I tried to buy them online, they wanted boatload of money for shipping. That made no sense. I had to drive 45 minutes each way to go the store and then spend another hour inside, including finding someone to tell me where they were. Their stupid App or website does not give you a location for any product!

 

[MZKM]

Their stupid App or website does not give you a location for any product!

That is by design, same with having to walk through the entire store following the arrows.

Timestamped (don’t be turned off by the title):

 

[Chromatischism]

That is by design, same with having to walk through the entire store following the arrows.

I have never been inside an IKEA, but now I definitely don't want to.

 

[bobster]

Also, when I tried to buy them online, they wanted boatload of money for shipping.

Sorry to hear that! I wish they were better at shipping, but it seems that‘s a relatively low priority for them.

My local store - only about 15 minutes away - offered “Click and Pickup”: I ordered online and they brought it out to me.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Sorry to hear that! I wish they were better at shipping, but it seems that‘s a relatively low priority for them.

My local store - only about 15 minutes away - offered “Click and Pickup”: I ordered online and they brought it out to me.

You DID grab some Swedish Meatballs on the way out, I hope.

 

[amirm]

You DID grab some Swedish Meatballs on the way out, I hope.

I did!!! Cafeteria was closed so we bought frozen. Hopefully it is good....

 

[somebodyelse]

That is by design, same with having to walk through the entire store following the arrows.

We know a song about that don't we, boys and girls?

 

[bobster]

Further thoughts after more listening:

1. My issue with bass remains: Sometimes there's still too much for me, and so far the bass EQ in the Sonos app doesn't seem help - it seems to address a different frequency range than the one that's bothering me. As I mentioned before, I had the same experience with the Sonos One in my kitchen, so I don't think I'm imagining things. Still need to try different EQ settings and re-do the TruePlay tuning.

2. Bass issues notwithstanding, the speaker seems to be fairly "revealing" - good mixes sound good, and lesser ones sound less good (and I'm able to tell where the latter are lacking). If the speaker had a strong coloration of its own, these differences would likely be obscured.

I'm still enjoying it, and will probably keep it. (Another nice thing about IKEA is that they have a 180 day return policy for opened items.)

 

[Toslink]

The table lamp speaker is now discontinued, so it lasted less than 2 years? Hopefully the bookshelf and picture frame will sell better.

I just got back from the local IKEA after picking up a pair of the speakers. The lamp speaker was on display there, so that suggests they are still current or they have remaining stock. My initial listening session with the speakers is very positive. They are head and shoulders better than the two other IKEA Sonos speakers, which sound dull, muddy to my ears. These do not sound that way whatsoever. The Sonos S2 app picked up the speaker right away and the onboarding process of adding it to my system was a seamless as it could be.

 

[bobster]

The lamp speaker was on display there, so that suggests they are still current or they have remaining stock.

From the IKEA USA web site:

Time will tell whether they're discontinued or replaced with an updated model.

 

[cbracer]

That is by design, same with having to walk through the entire store following the arrows.

LOL yes but there are secret passages that allow you to skip through the store without walking it all. Lots of little unknown secrets like shopping at Costco. I'm in luck because Ikea is 5 minutes away from my house and I've shopped there for years. Plenty of good things, some duds but l like them. And I think we can be happy they have teamed up with Sonos. It's good for Sonos too because they can have a cheaper product that doesn't really cheapen their name brand. And as Amir said, the proof of good sound is listening with your own ears Love is in the eye of the beholder.

1. My issue with bass remains: Sometimes there's still too much for me, and so far the bass EQ in the Sonos app doesn't seem help - it seems to address a different frequency range than the one that's bothering me.

Yes seems most people say that about most of the Sonos speakers and run the bass down a few notches then are happen enough. I rack it up to the same philosophy of AudioEngine. I tried their A5 speakers and the bass was so heavy I returned them. Plugging the front port helped but it distracted from the whole sound enough that I couldn't handle it. Sure if I liked bass music it may sound good, but I differ in Amir's recommendation of the A5. I see their new A5+ doesn't have the front port anymore.

 

[Toslink]

From the IKEA USA web site:

View attachment 143318
Time will tell whether they're discontinued or replaced with an updated model.

I'd venture a guess that between the box speakers and the lamp speakers, the lamp version sells far less. The light doesn't even dim--at least on the display model. Plus it looks like they stopped the work on the industrial design mid-way. It just feels like an incomplete product in both sound and form, so if it is discontinued, it seems apropos.

 

[richard12511]

Also, when I tried to buy them online, they wanted boatload of money for shipping. That made no sense. I had to drive 45 minutes each way to go the store and then spend another hour inside, including finding someone to tell me where they were. Their stupid App or website does not give you a location for any product!

IKEA is about the worst place to go if you know exactly what you want(at least the ones near me are). The whole store seems designed to make you shop for an hour. It's an experience.

 

[tecnogadget]

IKEA is about the worst place to go if you know exactly what you want(at least the ones near me are). The whole store seems designed to make you shop for an hour. It's an experience.

Exactly ! Many times my loveone and I went to Ikea with the thought of grabbing a very specific item, and already knew where to find it...but then end up buying 3 or 5 more items that “we also needed” or “were extremely useful”, and got lost inside the store . A 15 minutes initial plan turned into 1 hours like magic haha.