The IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf is a collaboration between IKEA and Sonos. This rectangular speaker can blend in nicely with most home decor. You can mount it to your wall and use it as a shelf, though the wall-mounting brackets aren't included in the box and must be purchased separately. It has a bright sound profile, which you can customize thanks to the bass and treble sliders featured on its Sonos S2 companion app. It also comes with the Sonos Trueplay room-correction feature, which adjusts the speaker's sound according to the acoustics of your room, but this is only available on iOS devices. Also, this speaker doesn't support Bluetooth, so you can only use it to play your audio over an internet connection.
Our Verdict
The IKEA SYMFONISK is alright for music. Its balanced mid-range ensures vocals and lead instruments sound present in the mix. However, its overemphasized treble range can cause higher-pitched vocals and instruments to sound harsh at times. It also struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you can't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music like EDM. Fortunately, the companion app features bass and treble sliders you can use to tweak its sound to your liking. While it can't get very loud, there are few compression artifacts present at max volume. This means your audio sounds clean at louder volumes.
- Bass/treble adjustments.
- Few compression artifacts at max volume.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Requires two units for stereo sound.
The IKEA SYMFONISK is sub-par for videos and movies. This speaker doesn't get very loud and struggles to reproduce a thumpy and rumbling low-bass, which fans of action-packed movies and videos may find disappointing. That said, there are few compression artifacts present at max volume, so your audio should remain clean at louder volumes. Unfortunately, it requires two units to play stereo audio and has to downmix stereo content to mono when using it on its own, which doesn't sound as immersive.
- Low Apple AirPlay latency.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Requires two units for stereo sound.
The IKEA SYMFONISK is okay for podcasts. Its well-balanced mid-range ensures voices and dialogue sound clear, making it suitable for listening to dialogue-heavy audio content like audiobooks or podcasts. However, its overemphasized treble range can make sibilants like 'S' and 'T' sound harsh at times. That said, its companion app features bass and treble sliders you can use to adjust the speaker's sound to suit your preferences. While this speaker isn't very portable, you can connect it to compatible speakers in your house and stream different audio in different rooms at once.
- Bass/treble adjustments.
- Few compression artifacts at max volume.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Not very portable.
The IKEA SYMFONISK doesn't have any voice assistants. That said, the manufacturer claims you can use assistants to control the speaker when it is connected to a compatible voice-enabled Amazon or Google Home device. However, we don't test this as it requires a third-party device that needs to be bought separately.
The IKEA SYMFONISK isn't designed for outdoor use since it's a wired-only speaker and needs to remain plugged into a power outlet for it to work.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The IKEA SYMFONISK speaker comes in two color variants, 'Black' and 'White', and we expect them both to perform similarly. We tested the 'Black' color variant; you can find its label here.
If you come across any other variants, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The IKEA SYMFONISK is a sleek speaker designed to blend in with most home decors. You can mount it to your wall and use it as a bookshelf, though its wall-mounting brackets are purchased separately. Unfortunately, like the IKEA SYMFONISK Speaker lamp and the IKEA SYMFONISK Picture frame, it doesn't support Bluetooth, so you can only play your audio over an internet connection. It also requires two speakers to play stereo content and has to downmix stereo content to mono to play it when using it on its own, which doesn't sound as immersive.
See our recommendations for the best home speakers, the best Sonos speakers, and the best Bluetooth speakers.
The Sonos One Gen 2/One SL is a slightly better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf, though they are similar speakers. The Sonos offers very good voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in as long as you don't purchase the SL variant. It also has a somewhat better-balanced sound profile than that of the IKEA. That said, the IKEA can get slightly louder with fewer compression artifacts at max volume, so your audio remains clean when listening at louder volumes.
The IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf and the Google Nest Audio are similar speakers, though they have different strengths. The IKEA has a better-balanced sound profile and can get louder with fewer compression artifacts present at max volume, so your audio should sound cleaner during louder listening sessions. It also supports Apple AirPlay and has very low latency over this connection, which may please Apple users. That said, the Google speaker has very good directivity, resulting in a wider-sounding soundstage. It offers outstanding voice assistant support with Google Assistant built-in. It's also Bluetooth-compatible, so you can stream your audio to the speaker over a Bluetooth connection.
The Sonos Roam/Roam SL is a better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf overall, though you may prefer one over the other depending on your listening habits. The Sonos is an incredibly portable Bluetooth speaker with outstanding voice assistant support, as long as you purchase the Roam variant. The IKEA can produce a deeper low bass than the Sonos. It can also get louder with fewer compression artifacts at max volume, so your audio sounds cleaner at louder volume settings.
The Sonos Move is a better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf. The Sonos has a better-balanced sound profile and a wider-sounding soundstage. You can also use it to stream your audio over a Bluetooth connection, and it offers outstanding voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in. It's also outstandingly portable. That said, the IKEA has fewer compression artifacts present at max volume, and it has lower latency over Apple AirPlay than the Sonos.
Test Results
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