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.
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Bass/treble adjustments.
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Few compression artifacts at max volume.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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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.
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Low Apple AirPlay latency.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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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.
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Bass/treble adjustments.
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Few compression artifacts at max volume.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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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.
- 6.7 Music
- 5.7 Videos/Movies
- 6.4 Podcasts
- 2.8 Voice Assistant
- 4.7 Outdoors
- Updated Oct 21, 2022: Added a comparison to the IKEA SYMFONISK Picture frame in the 'Style' and 'Compared To Other Speakers' boxes.
- Updated Jun 09, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jun 04, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Jun 03, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jun 02, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated May 29, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated May 23, 2021: The product has won our suggestion poll, so we'll buy and test it soon.
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.
Compared To Other Speakers
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 IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf and the IKEA SYMFONISK Speaker lamp are both Wi-Fi speakers from a collaboration between IKEA and Sonos designed to blend in with your home decor. You can place the Bookshelf speaker horizontally or vertically, and you can mount it to your wall. It can get slightly louder than the Speaker lamp, with significantly less compression present at max volume, so audio quality doesn't degrade as much as you bump up the volume. That said, the Speaker lamp offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a slightly more extended low-bass than the Bookshelf. It also has better directivity resulting in a wider-sounding soundstage.
The IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf is a bit better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Picture frame. While the Bookshelf doesn't have the widest-sounding soundstage, it still sounds much wider and more open than the Picture frame's. Otherwise, they both perform fairly similarly, so depending on your aesthetic preferences and your home decor, you may prefer one over the other.
The Sonos Five is a better speaker than the IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf overall. The Sonos can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono which sounds more immersive. It can also get louder than the IKEA and can produce deeper and thumpier bass. While the IKEA doesn't get as loud as the Sonos, it has fewer compression artifacts present at max volume, resulting in a cleaner sound when listening to louder volume settings.
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.
The IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf and the Klipsch The Three II are similar speakers with different strengths. The IKEA is Wi-Fi compatible and can produce a more extended low-bass with its Trueplay feature enabled. It also comes with bass and treble adjustments to customize its sound. That said, the Klipsch can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono which is more immersive. It can also get significantly louder than the IKEA, and it supports Bluetooth connectivity.
Test Results
The IKEA SYMFONISK is a sleek, rectangular speaker designed to blend in with your home decor. You can place it horizontally or vertically. You can also mount it to your wall to use as a shelf, though the mounting brackets aren't included and must be purchased separately. This speaker comes in two colors, 'Black' and 'White'. For another IKEA and Sonos speaker that easily blends in with home decor, check out the IKEA SYMFONISK Speaker lamp and the IKEA SYMFONISK Picture frame.
This speaker isn't very portable. While you can carry it with one hand, you can't easily take it outdoors with you since it isn't battery-powered and needs to remain plugged into a power outlet to work.
Its build quality isn't bad. Its body is mostly ABS plastic, while its front is covered by polyester fabric. You can pull on the SONOS/IKEA tab to remove the speaker's front panel to see its drivers. There are also rubber feet on two of the speaker's sides so it can sit either horizontally or vertically. Since this speaker isn't for outdoor use, it doesn't have an IP rating for dust and water resistance, and we don't currently test for this.
Its controls aren't bad and are pretty straightforward. There's a play/pause button you can double-press to skip to your next track and triple-press to skip to your previous one. Pressing and holding this button for a few seconds duplicates your music from another eligible Sonos device. There are also + and - buttons you can use to adjust the speaker's volume. There's a small light next to the play/pause button that changes colors to inform you of its connection status. It will turn to a solid green when you reach the speaker's minimum volume, though it doesn't notify you once you've reached its max volume setting. Unfortunately, the buttons don't feel very clicky, and it may be hard to tell if you pressed them properly. They may also be harder to press if you have larger fingers.
This speaker has decent frequency response accuracy. It has a bright sound profile, with a balanced mid-range that ensures vocals and lead instruments sound present in the mix. That said, its overemphasized treble range can make voices and sibilants like 'S' and 'T' sound honky and harsh at times. This speaker also struggles to reproduce the deep thump and rumble that fans of bass-heavy music tend to enjoy. Fortunately, its Sonos S2 companion app features bass and treble sliders you can use to customize its sound to your liking.
Note: We tested this speaker vertically, with its Trueplay room correction feature enabled and its bass and treble settings set to their default configurations. However, it's important to note that its Trueplay feature is only available on iOS devices.
The speaker has a middling soundstage performance. While it can pair to a compatible speaker to create a stereo pair, it has to downmix stereo content to mono when using it on its own, which doesn't sound as immersive. However, its directivity is alright, so your audio sounds mostly clear from most angles. Its soundstage is perceived as somewhat narrow and directional instead of wide and spacious at times. Consider the IKEA SYMFONISK Speaker lamp for a speaker with a wider and more open-sounding soundstage.
Its dynamics performance is decent. While it can't get very loud, there aren't many compression artifacts present at max volume, so your audio sounds mostly clean during louder listening sessions. If you're looking for a home speaker that can get significantly louder, check out the Klipsch The Three II.
While it doesn't have any voice assistants, the manufacturer claims it can be controlled by voice assistants when it's connected to a compatible voice-enabled Amazon or Google Home device. However, we didn't test this. Since this requires buying a third-party device, we don't consider it to support voice assistants.
The Sonos S2 app is outstanding. It features bass and treble sliders you can use to customize the speaker's sound to your liking. You can also use it to pair it to another speaker to create a stereo pair or to multiple other compatible speakers when you want to play different audio content in different rooms of your house at the same time. Unfortunately, its Trueplay room correction feature is only available with iOS products.
It has an Ethernet port you can use to connect the speaker to your network.
It's Wi-Fi compatible. It has an outstanding Apple AirPlay latency performance, making it suitable for watching videos and movies. Unfortunately, it doesn't have Chromecast built-in, which may disappoint some Android users.