Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker review: Worthy of a space on your wall?

(Pocket-lint) - The Sonos Ikea Symfonisk scope started with a talker that doubled-up arsenic bookshelf and different talker that doubled-up arsenic a lamp. Both sounded large and their dual intent made them fantabulous additions to immoderate home, particularly those abbreviated connected space.

Continuing the scope is the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker - heavy breaths aft that mouthful of a sanction - and, arsenic you whitethorn person guessed from it's name, it's a representation framework that's besides a speaker. Though it serves a dual purpose, it's besides designed for those who mightiness privation speakers to beryllium heard but not seen. 

So is the Symfonisk Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker worthy of a abstraction connected your wall?

Design

• Dimensions: 570 x 410 x 60mm
• Black oregon White framework options
• 12 people options

First thing's first, the Sonos Ikea Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker is simply a people holder alternatively than a representation framework - you person to take 1 of the 12 prints disposable (and much volition travel each season) alternatively than being capable to enactment your favourite vacation drawback into it, oregon customise it with your ain pictures. That's a spot of a downer.

The disposable prints are rather divers successful presumption of benignant - and inoffensive - truthful there's a bully accidental you'll find thing to suit your décor. They are besides interchangeable, truthful if you get bored of looking astatine 1 past you tin easy power it retired by popping it retired from the back.

The framework itself comes successful achromatic oregon achromatic options - we had the achromatic enactment for our review, arsenic you tin spot from our pictures - and some travel with a achromatic powerfulness cable. This won't beryllium a immense contented for most, particularly if you person achromatic walls, but we would person preferred the powerfulness cablegram to lucifer the frame, similar it does with Sonos speakers.

Sonos and Ikea branding is positioned subtly connected the frame, portion the worldly the pictures are printed onto has been designed with acoustics successful mind, naturally. It tin beryllium hung vertically, horizontally (brackets travel successful the box), oregon positioned look up connected the level (there are rubber feet if you opt for this). 

The power buttons - which dwell of play/pause, measurement up and measurement down - are down the framework to let for a seamless decorativeness connected the front. You tin double-press play to skip and triple-press to spell backmost a track. You tin besides press-and-hold play to bring the Picture Frame into a radical with different Sonos speakers.

Only an LED presumption airy appears connected the beforehand erstwhile you request it, specified arsenic indicating wherever you request to pat your NFC-enabled smartphone for speedy setup. 

A 3.5-metre achromatic powerfulness cord comes connected to the device, which ought to beryllium agelong capable for most. There are aggregate gaps successful the framework astatine the backmost to let for the ligament and alteration the framework to beryllium flush to the wall. There's besides a cavity astatine the backmost with Velcro for wrapping and securing immoderate other cable, which is handy.

Within this cavity, you'll besides find AC in, AC Out, and an Ethernet larboard - though we'd urge utilizing Wi-Fi, particularly arsenic different you person an other cablegram giving distant the talker individuality of this portion of expected artwork.

Features

• Apple AirPlay 2
• Stereo pairing
• Trueplay tuning

The Sonos Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker has astir of the aforesaid features arsenic accepted Sonos speakers. You'll find Apple AirPlay 2 support, stereo pairing, and dissimilar the Sonos Roam and Sonos Move speakers, you tin adhd 2 arsenic surrounds to a Sonos Beam oregon Sonos Arc soundbar. It's worthy noting that you'll request different Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker to stereo pair, you can't stereo brace it with a Sonos One, for example.

All the modular Sonos features are connected board, including equaliser adjustment, compatibility with implicit 100 streaming services, Sonos Radio, and Trueplay tuning - the past of which is decidedly worthy doing for dependable optimisation based connected your install. There's besides the quality to radical the Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker with immoderate different Sonos speaker, oregon person it play individually.

The Picture Frame with Wi-Fi talker besides supports the Sound Swap feature that launched with Sonos Roam - you tin work much astir that successful our abstracted feature.

The lone features missing from the Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker compared to immoderate different Sonos speakers - similar the Sonos One - is astute assistants. Although the Picture Frame Wi-Fi Speaker tin beryllium controlled utilizing Google Assistant oregon Amazon Alexa, it doesn't person the astute assistants built-in. There is besides nary Bluetooth connectivity similar the Sonos Roam oregon Sonos Move.

Performance

• Waveguide for acoustic volume
• Tweeter, woofer
• Decent sound

Under the hood - oregon nether the representation front, we should accidental - the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk with Wi-Fi Speaker squeezes successful a tweeter and woofer contempt its shallow depth, with Sonos utilizing a waveguide to present acoustic volume. 

We were pleasantly amazed by the dependable show of the Picture Frame with Wi-Fi Speaker. However, we aren't convinced we would take it implicit a Sonos One, simply due to the fact that we similar the thought of conscionable having a tiny talker than a random portion of creation connected the wall.

Surprisingly it's inactive connected the bassy broadside - similar each Sonos speakers - contempt its slim frame, and wide it delivers a bully balance. We listened to a scope of tracks successful testing, from The Eagle's Hotel California and Massive Attack's Teardrop, to Pink Floyd's Time and Laura Marling's Soothing - conscionable immoderate examples - and we were continually amazed with the Picture Frame Wi-Fi Speaker's capabilities during testing. 

Vocals and acoustics dependable good; the talker delivers decent bass for its format, portion besides handling treble well, and possibly astir surprisingly, we recovered ourselves appreciating it much the longer we had it. We wouldn't accidental it's rather arsenic well-rounded arsenic the Sonos One, but it's surely amended than the Symfonisk Bookshelf Wi-Fi Speaker.

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 5 August 2021.