Ikea SYMFONISK Picture Frame Speaker Review

[amirm]

Looks like it will be awfully bass heavy up against a wall.

There are so many variables involved there that one must measure to know. It did not sound that way in my listening but I have a large space so bass modes are lower and less pronounced.

 

[amirm]

Nice review.

Doesn't it mean that any speaker with a high-pass filter 48dB/oct starting at 60Hz has no SPL limit?

In my testing, mostly yes. I test for that by playing sub-bass heavy content and that is where I notice so many speakers falling apart. So to the extent there is a filter, then your ears start to complain about the higher frequencies getting too loud, not the distortion in deep bass.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

This not having line level or speaker inputs makes me sad.

Yup, that's made this thing a hard pass here. Otherwise, it would make a passable surround/ambience speaker with decent powered monitors and a sub to do the heavy lifting.

 

[Wes]

Apple Airplay can give you unimpeachable SQ.

 

[amirm]

Really like the new look of the directivity graphs

Thanks. Sadly they come at a high cost. They are part the new revision of the Klippel software that costs 2000 Euros to get! I have a temporarily license which expires next month. Combine this with the 4000 Euro cost of baffle measurement option for Klippel NFS and I am feeling mighty poor again!

 

[escape2]

Not to mention they will work as Roon and LMS endpoints, including stereo paired.

How can you turn it into an LMS endpoint?

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

How can you turn it into an LMS endpoint?

With the UPnP plugin for LMS.

 

[Rottmannash]

Ah, the panel was easy to pull off. You just push through the back holes:

View attachment 142766

That is one tiny driver. Am I to assume one needs 2 for stereo or is there no way to project a stereo image?

 

[wwenze]

Is it just me or is this a better bang for buck than SONOS's own speakers?

 

[Helicopter]

That is one tiny driver. Am I to assume one needs 2 for stereo or is there no way to project a stereo image?

You need 2 for stereo.

Is it just me or is this a better bang for buck than SONOS's own speakers?

I noticed this too. Better looking as well.

 

[Rottmannash]

With the UPnP plugin for LMS.

View attachment 142812

Dumb question-what's LMS?

 

[escape2]

Dumb question-what's LMS?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech_Media_Server

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Dumb question-what's LMS?

Basically Roon without the pricetag, lol.

 

[Marc v E]

Well, there you have it: solid engineering and quantity of scale makes an ikea speaker a better bet than hifi brands.

 

[tmtomh]

Does this speaker signal a change in reviewing direction @amirm ?

The tests results speak for themselves- it's an absolute unmitigated disaster of a HiFi speaker, but you like it subjectively enough to give it a strong reccommendation because it's a Sonos wall mounted 'lifestyle' speaker? I don't get it.

Try re-reading the review, and taking into account the price and what it actually is. If you don't need a wireless speaker that is so thin it can hang on a wall like a picture, then you can indeed spend $200 and get something better.

 

[YSC]

Much better than I’d expect for a lifestyle speaker! This is actually at similar deviation magnitude to the dynaudio reviewed yesterday.. call me surprised

 

[JohnBooty]

I get really excited about this from a holistic perspective -- love the idea of getting decent sound into homes and rooms where otherwise there wouldn't be any. Ultimately it's a good thing for the pursuit and the hobby. Hope they sell a boatload.

Does this speaker signal a change in reviewing direction @amirm ?
The tests results speak for themselves- it's an absolute unmitigated disaster of a HiFi speaker, but you like it subjectively enough to give it a strong reccommendation because it's a Sonos wall mounted 'lifestyle' speaker? I don't get it.

Unmitigated disaster?!

• The estimated in-room response is +/- 3dB from 50hz-6khz
• ...and more like +/- 1.5dB from 150hz-6khz
• Dispersion is great

I like big, high-output, high-sensitivity speakers myself... but this is objectively some good stuff for $200USD and $400 for a stereo pair seems pretty reasonable to me.

 

[raindance]

There are so many variables involved there that one must measure to know. It did not sound that way in my listening but I have a large space so bass modes are lower and less pronounced.

True, but I'd expect an over-damped bass alignment in any speaker designed for on-wall mounting. This looks under-damped...which seems to be how many manufacturers at the moment view the needs of their market. Bass, bass, bass. A little eq or port plugging may help though.

 

[Flow]

Interesting review. I appreciate the efforts made to measure loudspeakers that aren't in the traditional form factors.

 

[maverickronin]

Who is hooking this up to a stereo system?
AirPlay, Spotify, and Sonos app will cover 99% of what users want.

Not having the jacks and no ADC is going to be cost savings.

But assuming you can't install in-wall speakers, it would be one of the highest WAF satellite/atmos speakers available.