SONOS on a budget? IKEA Symfonisk!

Looking to expand your SONOS home audio system? Or want to get into the wifi zoned audio game on a budget? Check out IKEA's new Symfonisk speakers! Created in collaboration with SONOS, they are fully compatible with other SONOS speakers. I've got three SONOS speakers already (two Play:3 and one Connect:Amp), and it was a breeze to add this new Symfonisk speaker so that we could listen to music while preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Here are pictures of the white Symfonisk bookshelf speaker I picked up at IKEA a few days ago. With the cover off you can see the tweeter, mid-woofer and what must be a sound channel meant to increase volume and bass response.

Above, you can see the mounting bracket ($20 extra) and speaker mounted to my kitchen wall. Installation was easy. I was able to stuff excess power cord into the indent on the back of the speaker, the area around the power cord connection.

Below, you'll find a short video clip of the speaker in action. (This took a couple of tries to find a recording that I actually produced, to prevent the copyright police from taking action to block the video or sound. Please enjoy this snippet from 2004's "This is Organ Night" featuring Billy Holloman on the Hammond B-3.)



The verdict: Considering this is only $99, it feels like a good value to me. I'm happy with the sound quality and the price can't be beat. You could buy two of them and make them a stereo pair for under $200. Add a SONOS subwoofer if you think you need more bass. Or do like I did, and buy a single speaker just to extend the reach of your zoned audio system. We're very happy with the sound quality and it's great to be able to listen to our music while in the kitchen.