Sonos Vs IKEA image.... Do you think they go well together? I own products from both companies, however the reason I purchase from IKEA is very different to what I'm looking to when buying from a company like Sonos. In my mind IKEA is cheap, need some bedroom furniture for the kids. Sonos I consider a premium product that will last me a lifetime.... In my head the two don't go together and even if it was the same product inside the speaker case, I'd never buy it if it had IKEA stuck on the outside. Perhaps I sound snobby.
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That's one point of view. On the other hand, a fervent audiophile will look at both as cheap commodities. And to be honest, while Sonos is brilliant for convenience/features and music quality, seeing it as a lifetime investment is stretching it, in my view.
IKEA makes some darned good furniture, had some of ours for a lot of years now and it is holding up quite well, they make pressed sawdust junk too. Same goes for their other lines, they make great quality and dirt cheap so you buy what you can afford.
I can't imagine an audiophile buying Sonos, no specs to drag out to impress others, pretty reasonable price so you can't wave a receipt around to impress your buddies either.
I can't imagine an audiophile buying Sonos, no specs to drag out to impress others, pretty reasonable price so you can't wave a receipt around to impress your buddies either.
In my opinion, there will be more advantages than disadvantages with this collaboration. IKEA is a well known brand for most people and Sonos is still developing their identity/image. Contrary to what it may seem, this isn't an example of Sonos riding IKEA's shirttails, though. I believe the engineers at both companies share a great deal of passion for design, as well as innovation. From Sonos' side, this helps more of their products become available in the marketplace, in a store where you wouldn't necessarily otherwise find their presence.
Similar companies have merged with great success, and it appears this relationship has a great deal of momentum to do well. Offering a more budget conscious segment of their catalog is not going to diminish the high quality attention to detail we've all come to love from Sonos. If anything, the revenue stream and increased market-share will allow Sonos the capital to offer (in most people's eyes) updates to some of their existing line, or potentially a new launch altogether.
Similar companies have merged with great success, and it appears this relationship has a great deal of momentum to do well. Offering a more budget conscious segment of their catalog is not going to diminish the high quality attention to detail we've all come to love from Sonos. If anything, the revenue stream and increased market-share will allow Sonos the capital to offer (in most people's eyes) updates to some of their existing line, or potentially a new launch altogether.
I have a hard time believing that consumers who don't care for ikea products are going to transfer those feelings over to Sonos. I don't really think the opposite is true either. I would guess that there are more ikea shoppers who gain knowledge and interest in Sonos from this than vice versa. And I'd think the inclusion of speakers built into furniture is going to help sell furniture for ikea.
Engadget has done a first-look (type) short article on the Sonos/Ikea collaboration here:
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/25/ikea-shows-sonos-speaker
I think ikea should have maybe (better) hidden, (or even airbrushed out) the power-cable, just to give the device a little more appeal in the second 'shelf' image, but that’s just my own personal opinion. It’s quite a small device isn’t it?
I assume there will be several other speakers of varying sizes besides the one shown, as there is apparently some kind of formal unveiling due in April.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/25/ikea-shows-sonos-speaker
I think ikea should have maybe (better) hidden, (or even airbrushed out) the power-cable, just to give the device a little more appeal in the second 'shelf' image, but that’s just my own personal opinion. It’s quite a small device isn’t it?
I assume there will be several other speakers of varying sizes besides the one shown, as there is apparently some kind of formal unveiling due in April.
Yes, those same images appeared in an International news source yesterday, and have been cut/pasted to various outlets.
https://teknikveckan.com/ikea/officiella-bilder-pa-ikea-och-sonos-gemensamma-hogtalare/
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/3/25/18281352/ikea-sonos-symfonisk-bookshelf-speaker-final-design-red-dot-award-reveal
Completely agree about the lack of hiding cord(s), but also understand it's probably not Symfonisk's official marketing.
April 9 will definitely help answer additional questions.
https://teknikveckan.com/ikea/officiella-bilder-pa-ikea-och-sonos-gemensamma-hogtalare/
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/3/25/18281352/ikea-sonos-symfonisk-bookshelf-speaker-final-design-red-dot-award-reveal
Completely agree about the lack of hiding cord(s), but also understand it's probably not Symfonisk's official marketing.
April 9 will definitely help answer additional questions.
Looks great! No more metal grid front but instead a cloth cover, making it look more like a conventional speaker. Also favour the dimensions, especially when placed vertically.
Hope this comes close to the sound stage of a Play:3 on lower to moderate volume settings. Depending on the final sales price I expect this product to easily find its' customers.
Could also be a glance of hope for the rather miserably looking SONO stock development...
Hope this comes close to the sound stage of a Play:3 on lower to moderate volume settings. Depending on the final sales price I expect this product to easily find its' customers.
Could also be a glance of hope for the rather miserably looking SONO stock development...
Here's a thought...what makes a current Sonos speaker a Sonos beyond the Play 1 and Playbar….
1.Sonos One (Gen 1 and Gen 2)_Airplay2 and Alexa
2.Play 5 _Airpaly2 and Line-in
3. Beam_Airplay2, Alexa, HDMI-ARC and Optical
4.All Sonos can be integrated with Amazon Dot, Spot and Show
If those features/abilites are withheld from the Ikea version therein lies your onus to upgrade to genuine Sonos. There's also the possibility that TruePlay will not be an option.
One other point...the speaker enclosure may make a difference in the resonance of the sound. You can put a Sonos speaker in a variety of enclosures but the tuning will vary and may influence the tone just enough to say "give me genuine Sonos" :8
Cheers!
1.Sonos One (Gen 1 and Gen 2)_Airplay2 and Alexa
2.Play 5 _Airpaly2 and Line-in
3. Beam_Airplay2, Alexa, HDMI-ARC and Optical
4.All Sonos can be integrated with Amazon Dot, Spot and Show
If those features/abilites are withheld from the Ikea version therein lies your onus to upgrade to genuine Sonos. There's also the possibility that TruePlay will not be an option.
One other point...the speaker enclosure may make a difference in the resonance of the sound. You can put a Sonos speaker in a variety of enclosures but the tuning will vary and may influence the tone just enough to say "give me genuine Sonos" :8
Cheers!
interesting thoughts. Perhaps it will be good for Sonos, gaining press from IKEA etc.... but my personal opinion is that it cheapens Sonos. The person who mentioned above that IKEA make some good quality furniture, but also some poor/cheap is the exact problem I have.... Sonos doesn't make good quality AND poor quality.... just good. Therefore in my mind the fact that IKEA does offer cheap/lower quality furniture amongst their range, cheapens the brand of Sonos to me. Perhaps I'll look at alternatives. 🙂
Probably the best choice for you, Sonos gear doesn't have much market appeal to folks looking at that kind of thing. If all you were concerned about was decent sound, reasonably appealing design and a wide selection of music you'd probably be more interested in Sonos.
I know the Sonos ease of use has a huge appeal for me, I have several rather good home theater setups hooked to Sonos but I rarely bother to turn them on these days. Much easier to just tap a single button and have music nearly instantly. It is getting so bad the spouse got me to give one audio system away so she could quit dusting it. Her point that it hadn't been turned on in over 6 months was spot on. Just too much hassle compared to the paired Play 3s in the same room.
Whatever you end up with consider getting a Connect and sitting it out of sight, Sonos sound piped into a high end system with a sub-harmonic synthesizer and big sub will move things around when cranked up.
Hi everyone, I know some of you had questions about what the IKEA and Sonos partnership looks like, so here's the community announcement. You can also find articles and news on the subject by looking for SYMFONISK. The two models will be available in August, so you'll probably have to wait until around then for full reviews.
Honestly I am not getting this collaboration with Ikea at all, yes it will introduce Sonos to a larger market which is good for buisness but have been reading Sonos' response on Instagram and it is mentioned the audio quality of these are comparable to play 1s, so why would someone go and buy a play 1 instead of the cheaper Ikea speaker? As this article says here basically you can buy 2 of these Ikea bookshelf speakers for the price of Play 1, so isn't it devaluing the Sonos brand which in my opinion is a premium brand.
https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/reviews/sonos/147718-sonos-ikea-symfonisk-book-shelf-wi-fi-speaker-review.amphtml
https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/reviews/sonos/147718-sonos-ikea-symfonisk-book-shelf-wi-fi-speaker-review.amphtml
@Niraj.Shr, your information is a little offer.
The bookshelf speaker is said to be of lower quality than the play:1 . Per your link:
It's not as powerful as the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Table Lamp Speaker, nor as the Sonos One, but the Symfonisk Book Shelf Wi-Fi Speaker still packs in some punch for its compact size
The Sonos One and Play:1 are essentially the same audio quality.
As far as cost...
Currently, the cheapest way to get a Sonos 3.1 system involves buying two Play:1s to pair up to the Sonos Beam or Sonos Playbar but the price of the Symfonisk Book Shelf speaker means you could almost buy two for the same cost as one Play:1.
That statement is incorrect in just about every way. 2 play:1s bonded to a beam or playbar gives you a 5.0 system, not 3.1. You can buy 2 of the bookshelf speakers ($100) for the price of a Sonos One(($200), or $50 more than a single play:1 ($150). If "almost means $50 price difference, then ok. Hard to say without a proper review whether a stereo pair of of bookshelves is better than an single Sonos One or play:1, but I'd guess it is slightly better.
The table lamp is said to be around the same quality as the play:1, and priced at $175...$25 more than the play:1. Eseentially, you're getting the lamp feature for the extra cost.
Given all this, I wouldn't say that the IKEA speakers give you the same thing as direct Sonos options for cheaper. It does give you more options that might be preferable to customers though, and I can see sales of the play:1 or Sonos One declining a bit as a result.
As far as devaluing the brand, I think the question is more of whether people will feel that the existing Sonos speakers are somehow not as good as they used to be because of the ikea speakers. Or perhaps that displaying Sonos speakers in your home doesn't carry the same prestige as they use to, as Guest will be thinking 'ikea' when they look at the Sonos label...or something of that nature. Maybe most importantly, people who currently know nothing about Sonos may assume they are lower quality speakers because of ikea.
The bookshelf speaker is said to be of lower quality than the play:1 . Per your link:
It's not as powerful as the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Table Lamp Speaker, nor as the Sonos One, but the Symfonisk Book Shelf Wi-Fi Speaker still packs in some punch for its compact size
The Sonos One and Play:1 are essentially the same audio quality.
As far as cost...
Currently, the cheapest way to get a Sonos 3.1 system involves buying two Play:1s to pair up to the Sonos Beam or Sonos Playbar but the price of the Symfonisk Book Shelf speaker means you could almost buy two for the same cost as one Play:1.
That statement is incorrect in just about every way. 2 play:1s bonded to a beam or playbar gives you a 5.0 system, not 3.1. You can buy 2 of the bookshelf speakers ($100) for the price of a Sonos One(($200), or $50 more than a single play:1 ($150). If "almost means $50 price difference, then ok. Hard to say without a proper review whether a stereo pair of of bookshelves is better than an single Sonos One or play:1, but I'd guess it is slightly better.
The table lamp is said to be around the same quality as the play:1, and priced at $175...$25 more than the play:1. Eseentially, you're getting the lamp feature for the extra cost.
Given all this, I wouldn't say that the IKEA speakers give you the same thing as direct Sonos options for cheaper. It does give you more options that might be preferable to customers though, and I can see sales of the play:1 or Sonos One declining a bit as a result.
As far as devaluing the brand, I think the question is more of whether people will feel that the existing Sonos speakers are somehow not as good as they used to be because of the ikea speakers. Or perhaps that displaying Sonos speakers in your home doesn't carry the same prestige as they use to, as Guest will be thinking 'ikea' when they look at the Sonos label...or something of that nature. Maybe most importantly, people who currently know nothing about Sonos may assume they are lower quality speakers because of ikea.
One point I'm not sure has been made (at least not that I've seen) is Sonos will not be selling SYMFONISK on their website.
The IKEA/Sonos collaboratives are only available at IKEA stores and IKEA's website.
Sonos intends on continuing to promote their own specific tech, as well as every opportunity to grow their brand.
The IKEA/Sonos collaboratives are only available at IKEA stores and IKEA's website.
Sonos intends on continuing to promote their own specific tech, as well as every opportunity to grow their brand.
The IKEA/Sonos collaboratives are only available at IKEA stores and IKEA's website.
True. I would guess that IKEA was in favor of this arrangement, as I think all of their products are exclusive to their stores. It would be interesting to know if Sonos also favored this.
I’m on my cell phone so excuse the typos...
I like a good healthy exchange of ideas, opinions and speculation as much as anyone. Heck I’ve been a part of this discussion as well.
But you know what ...we’re spending a lot of time discussing what will or may or may not occur after the fact. It’s like closing the gate AFTER the horse is gone or locking the hen house AFTER the fox has eaten all the chickens.
Sonos has made it’s decision and sealed the deal with IKEA. Sonos and we will have to live with that course of action for better or worse. I truly hope it’s not the latter.
However, I will say that using two lamps for surrounds would be something I might pay to see. Do you place them on matching end tables or pedestals? :8
Cheers!
PS:
Unless melvimbe has another 30 questions for Ryan (btw thanks for those questions :)) we’ve probably discussed this thing from all angles possible.
I like a good healthy exchange of ideas, opinions and speculation as much as anyone. Heck I’ve been a part of this discussion as well.
But you know what ...we’re spending a lot of time discussing what will or may or may not occur after the fact. It’s like closing the gate AFTER the horse is gone or locking the hen house AFTER the fox has eaten all the chickens.
Sonos has made it’s decision and sealed the deal with IKEA. Sonos and we will have to live with that course of action for better or worse. I truly hope it’s not the latter.
However, I will say that using two lamps for surrounds would be something I might pay to see. Do you place them on matching end tables or pedestals? :8
Cheers!
PS:
Unless melvimbe has another 30 questions for Ryan (btw thanks for those questions :)) we’ve probably discussed this thing from all angles possible.
End tables to be sure. Bedside tables with Beam is what I'm thinking of personally. Saves space that way 🙂
End tables to be sure. Bedside tables with Beam is what I'm thinking of personally. Saves space that way :)
Yep. I happen to have this as my bedroom set, which looks like it would match pretty well with the lamps. The bedside tables are currently a little crowded with a lamp and play:1 on each side. The dresser is already opposite the bed with a TV and beam mounted above. The table lamps are tempting.
@melvimbe
Tried to access your link on my cell and a (albeit) work computer and no luck 😞. BTW, is that a "BitTorrent" by chance :8;)
Tried to access your link on my cell and a (albeit) work computer and no luck 😞. BTW, is that a "BitTorrent" by chance :8;)
Tried to access your link on my cell and a (albeit) work computer and no luck 😞. BTW, is that a "BitTorrent" by chance :8;)
Link didn't work for me as well.
Tried to access your link on my cell and a (albeit) work computer and no luck 😞. BTW, is that a "BitTorrent" by chance :8;)
Weird. The link is accurate, but it only seems to work if your browser is already on the rooms to go site. Anyway, it's a relatively boxy/modern style.
edit: Found an old picture of the dresser. You can imagine what the nightstands look like.
Nice...but...Where's the beef..err I mean Beam 😉
It's a pre-beam picture!
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