Stuff - UK (2020-04)

TESTED IKEA FREKVENS

Ikea’s stackable Frekvens speakers

and beat-tracking lights are a mini

mobile disco waiting to happen

QHere’s a playful approach to

home audio from Ikea and fellow

Swedish company Teenage

Engineering: buy your Bluetooth

speaker, plug in a 12in subwoofer,

slot in a battery, bolt on an LED

light, connect together with

’70s-style spiral cabling and secure

with – inevitably – an Allen key.

QThe basic speaker pairs with up

to eight devices. It has line-in and

line-out 3.5mm ports, a volume

dial and removable fronts – yellow,

red or black – for design hacking.

Sound is as you’d expect for the

price, and you can add a battery

pack (£15) for 10hrs of portability.

QAudio improves with the

subwoofer set (£129) and gives

tunes a significant boost; buy a

different battery pack and that

becomes portable too.

QBut you know the party can’t

start until you bring the visuals,

so Ikea offers two LED cubes that

bolt on to your speaker, pulsing to

the beat of the music (a feature

you can, mercifully, switch off).

Choose from a single LED spot

(£25) or a multi-light cube (£29);

up to seven can be linked together

on a tripod (£45). Not in the party

mood? There’s also a £10 base

light that the speaker sits on.

QKit can be pimped further still

with a pack of light accessories

(£15); or if you have a 3D printer,

download a bunch of imaginative

designs from the Teenage website,

including speaker stands, carry

handles and even wheels. In total,

there are 27 mix-and-match mods.

Your typical audiophile is going to hate the Frekvens modular speaker, and especially

the light show. They’re going to ask why it lacks welly even with a subwoofer, and

why Ikea didn’t integrate it with its excellent Sonos-compatible speakers. All valid

arguments, but they’re missing the point and neglecting the fun, the charm and the

unique style on offer – things that are sorely lacking in hi-fi land.

A neat blend of

Ikea practicality

and Teenage

creativity

Chris Haslam

Teenage bricks

STUFF SAYS Frekvens reaffirms our love of the boffins in the big blue building ++++,

Connectivity Bluetooth, 3.5mm

Dimensions Speaker 200x100x

100mm, 1.8kg; speaker plus sub

300x200x100mm, 4.25kg

Q New module army

There’s nothing especially refined

about the sound quality or the

light show, but this innovative

approach from Ikea is refreshingly

brilliant – and will hopefully offer

a world of upgradeable fun in the

near future.

Q Thrift to experience

When you factor in the speaker,

sub and two battery packs,

listening to the Frekvens system

will cost you £159. If you want

better audio and battery life, go

and buy a UE Boom... but that

doesn’t really tell the whole story.

from £65 / stuff.tv/Frekvens

Tech specs

Yo, jacket

required?

There’s a whole range

of semi-random home

accessories available in

the range, including a

natty raincoat and

side table.