Hi, DaveFlash. Thanks for sharing this, very useful indeed. I'm sure others will find it to be of value!
In regards to the experience part of the thread,
here's a review of the bookshelf speakers. The part that stands out to me is the statement that a single Sonos One (and therefore play:1) sounds better than a pair of these. That's saying a lot.
I do plan on making a trip to the nearest ikea in the next few weeks to have a listen, but that tells me that the bookshelf has a more limited use case. As the article points out, it makes sense to use as surrounds where you don't need much. Although I wouldn't want to set it up with full stereo for music. I thought it would be good for a bathroom, but now I'd limit that to a bathroom where a play:1/Sono One doesn't work, perhaps a small half-bath. Perhaps the best case for this is using to bring airplay 2 to your system, since it's the cheapest option with airplay 2.
For a typical room though, if you're deciding between a pair of these vs a single Sonos One, it looks like the Sonos One is a clear winner.
And
here's a review of the lamps. The review seems a bit more positive, but doesn't sound like it quite matches the play:1/sonos one as far as sound quality. So you'd have to weigh whether the light, and thus cleaner space on your nightstand or table is worth it. I'm considering it for my bedroom where I already have a beam, so I won't be asking as much from these as rear surrounds (but full stereo when streaming). Again, I'll really need to hear it in person to make a good judgement. I'm also a little unsure about whether I like the lamp aspect of it. It's not your typical style and some people see it as ugly, I like the black, but not the 'shade' that comes with it. I really wish they offered different shade options and fabric covers for this so that you more decorating options.
I was driving past Ikea today so popped in to see if I could get to listen to the Symfonisk speakers. There was quite an extensive display set up so this was possible, however it was pretty busy and noisy so comparing the two wasn’t easy (and take my comments here with the appropriate pinch of salt).
The lamp is rather large and I wasn’t mad keen on the looks but can certainly believe it to be equivalent to a Play 1 (or One) in terms of sound quality: It had the same ‘solid’ feel and sound.
I was most curious about the bookshelf speaker because of it’s price, unusual design and how brilliantly it tucks away into an Ikea Kallax/Expedit shelving unit (I love those). Despite the noisy surroundings, it was pretty clear this speaker has a different ‘sound signature’. It sounded good, certainly relative to its price, but had that quality I often associate with small ported speakers of seeming to be trying to sound bigger than it is; a slightly ‘loose’ sort of sound, if that makes any sense. What was very striking, was the large amount of vibration that could be felt when touching the side of the unit (at 50-70% volume). The casing doesn’t seem to be particularly solid.
I’m still extremely curious how a pair of the bookshelves would be when used with a Sub: Maybe the issues I described above would be mitigated when the subwoofer took over bass duties? Probably not a combination many people are going to try, but maybe someone here with the requisite components would like to try?
(..)
Maybe the issues I described above would be mitigated when the subwoofer took over bass duties?
(..)
Yes that is certainly the case, as most of the reviewers (and I owning one myself) agree that set to default the bookshelf is too heavy on the bass, but to fix it just slide the eq bass setting in the sonos app for the symphonisk about a quarter inch (when on a smartphone screen) to an inch to the left (if your setting up on iPad). And the problem will disappear, the speaker will sound more clear and less wooly / more in balance. Also turning on loudness toggle will de-dull the sound in my experience.
see this review by stu for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iitVJPMcuVE
Bought 2 Symfonisk Bookshelf speakers and the setup was smooth & painless. For the price I have no complaints. Great complement to my Sonos setup.
Speakers where purchased outside of Stockholm. The display in the store was very impressive. Several employees on-hand to answer questions. The guy I spoke to said he had 8 of IKEA's speakers in his small apartment! Hope all of this means the relationship between Sonos & IKEA is long lasting and fruitful.
I can’t even get mine to Connect with my Sonos setup. Nothing works. Support hasn’t helped fix it. Waste my money
So, if you want assistance, you'll need to give us some details about your setup. If you're just here to complain, than that's fine as well.
Bought an Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelf speaker (I like the design is nice for my office) and a Symfonisk remote. The speaker works very well. Pretty close to the Play One in my opinion ... still like the sound of the One a bit better but it is pretty close. To add the Ikea speaker to the Sonos app was painless and the same process as my Sonos One.
Could not get the Symfonisk remote to work. The Ikea Smart Home App does not recognise any Sonos speakers (not the Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelf speaker or the Sonos Ones).
Pairing the remote (or even the Ikea lights) to the Ikea Hub is not a fun task (as you need to be a few cm from the hub and push a little button for 10sec ... sometimes it works ... sometimes not). I added the Symfonisk remote to the Ikea App ... but as there are no speakers recognised it's useless at the moment as I can't assign a remote to the speakers. The hub itself needs an Ethernet cable (oh no!) ... so it is location is bound to be near the WIFI router.
Looks like I will have to wait for some App / Firmware updates until everything works.
I have run into the same problem. Was able to pair the remote to the Tradfri but the Ikea App says it can’t find Sonos on your wifi network. I am only running Connect Amps and Connects - maybe it doesnt recogize them? Very frustrating
Spoke too soon. All of a sudden it found my Sonos system. Its a really cool device - especially for the price. Going to buy a bunch more.
Hi,
What’s the sound quality of Symfonisk bookshelf speaker compare to an actual Sonos one? I listened to the Symfonisk at Ikea and wasn’t too impressed. I haven’t seen a Sonos one to compare it with.
Paul
