PC Pro - UK 2021-12)

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T

hisisthethirdcollaboration
betweenIkeaandSonos,
followingtheSymfonisk
bookshelfspeakerandtablelampin
2019.Aswithboththoseproducts,the
Symfoniskpictureframespeaker
provideseasyaccesstotheworldof
wirelessstreamingaudiowhile
blendinginwithyourlivingspace.
However,thisisn’tatruepicture
frame:it’saplasticstructureinto
whichyouclipIkea-soldartwork
panels.Itcomeswithonepanel
pre-installedwithaselectionof
alternativepanelssoldseparatelyfor
£17apiece.Thesuppliedartwork,by
artistJenniferIdrizi,hasacertain
minimalistappeal,butlacksthekind
ofimpactIlookforinapieceofart.
There’smuchtoadmireaboutthe
Symfonisk’ssoundquality,however,

alldeliveredviaa102mm

wooferand25mmtweeter

housedundertheprinted

fabric.Thesedelivera

well-balancedsoundstage

characterisedbydetailed

midsandtreble.Vocal

trackswerethebiggest

beneficiariesofthisdetail

andthecrispnesswith

whichsuchtrackswere

articulatedprovedareal

standoutduringtesting.

It’sloudenoughtouse

asapartyspeakerinyour

livingroom,doesn’t

distortathighvolumes

andthere’sahealthy

bass,allwithoutvibratin

mywall.Thosewallsareprettythick,

however;thosewiththinner

partitionsshouldavoidpositioning

theSymfoniskagainstasurface

adjacenttosensitiveneighbours.

Thepictureframeiscompatible

withSonos’Trueplaytechnology,

whichtunesthespeaker’sEQbased

onthetheroomit’sinandwhereit’s

positioned.Unfortunatelyfor

Androidusers,Trueplayrequiresan

iPhoneoriPad.Onceyou’vefounda

suitablehomeforit,andsetthe

speakerupviatheSonosapp,youcan

addstreamingservicessuchas

ABOVETheSonos

Symfonisksounds

great,buttheartwork

isratheruninspiring

IkeaSonosSymfonisk

Anintriguingcombinationof

artandaudiothatsounds

betterthanitlooks

PRICE£149(£179incVAT)fromikea.com

SCORE

SPECIFICATIONS

102mmwoofer25mmtweeterWi-Fi 5

Ethernet3.5mpowercord 406 x60x

559mm(WDH)3.8kg1yrlimitedwarranty

Spotify,AppleMusicand

idal.iPhoneuserscanuse

ppleAirPlay2tostream

ontentnotaccessiblevia

theSonosapp.

There’snoBluetooth

spporthere,andtheonly

scketsontheframearean

Ehernetportforconnecting

directlytoyourrouter,anAC

pwerinputandanAC

output,fordaisy-chaining

twoSymfoniskspeakersfrom

onpowersource.Youcanuse

twSymfoniskstocreatea

steeosoundstage,or

configurethemasrear

spekersforSonossoundbars

dingtheBeamandArc.

IftheSymfoniskpictureframe

allowedyoutodisplayyourown

pictures,I’mcertainitwouldbea

massivehit.Asitis,theappealonly

extendstothosewholiveforIkea’s

Scandistyle.IfIhadabudgetof£200,

andwantedSonossoundinmyliving

room,I’dgoforaSonosOne,the

SonosRoamoran£89Symfonisk

bookshelfspeaker.ANDYSHAW