Just ordered these as rears to go with my Arc and Sub Gen 3. My One SLs are going into the kitchen This was the review that made me finally pull the trigger!
I own two frames and in my opinion, the amount of bass and depth they create blows my mind. Definitely worth getting as surround speakers over the Ones if possible.
Peter, there are a lot of good reviewers on YT, but for some reason, I think you explain audio specs much better to the average consumer. Love your channel. Also, nice editing at the beginning of the video. "I have 3 words... what the ..." :)
One great thing about Symfonisk is that Ikea sometimes have great sales on them. For example the picture frame was 50% off one day on the 2021 christmas calendar in Sweden. Sonos are never on sale :)
That’s my next plan to deploy them! I had them sitting on the floor while trying that out and the volume output was awesome. But I don’t have a place to hang them on the wall unfortunately so I could not deploy them permanently.
I have mine set up higher than you normally would for rear surrounds so they don’t look out of place and they work great. Definitely recommend these. Luckily I have plasterboard walls to be able to hide the cable.
I LOVE the concept of the Smyfonisk line of speakers: IKEA's affordability and Sonos' sound quality. Currently have a few Ones and Bookshelves around the house (the latter of which I purchased after the Ones and sound just about as good as the Ones to me). I am considering one of these frames or the lamp in the future :) great reviews, keep em coming! Do you plan to check out the Ray when it's out?
Thanks! I don't necessary set out to achieve that conversion but if there is someone out there with the same requirements as me, I think they should consider! :)
Was wondering when you were going to post this video. I just bought one of these to put in my garage gym and it sounds great for music. I will probably buy another one soon to make a stereo pair.
Love the idea with IKEA getting into the Sonos space. I have the play 3’s & am very happy with them. I’m guessing I could put these in our bedroom & hook-them up the the Sonos app & use them in various ways. Are the lamps as good as the picture frame model?
I just got one. I play it side by side with my One SL and the frame sounds considerably worst... Very disappointed. I'm now wondering if the one I got is defective....
I was suprised how good these sounded in Ikea the other day. These would be the perfect atmos ceiling speaker in my opinion. Probably won't happen though and all I really want at the moment is the 14.12 fix
The fix should be coming soon. And based on the mounting options, might be dangerous to hang these on the ceiling even if they do allow us to pair extra speakers as Atmos speakers.
Peter, it would be great if you could have a review if these sounds better when paired as a rear surround as compared to a bookshelf pair. Thinking whether to go with these or wait for the sub mini to add on my exisiting bookshelf pair.
I actually want to do that video too! Have so many videos planned but just not enough time to do it. But I say if you already have the bookshelf, don't upgrade. It will make a difference for sure but it won't justify the extra cost since you already have a good setup for surround. If you are coming from no surrounds, then yes, I will recommend the frames over the bookshelves.
Superb review Peter! Thanks so much for maligning this! 🙏 Follow-up questions: Can *two* of these be permanently paired together for stereo/surround? And … could _four_ be configured in a larger room? Thanks?
Yes. Two of them can be configured in stereo. And they can also be used as surrounds. You cannot link all four into a room. But you can set up stereo pairs in 2 rooms for a total of four and play both rooms together. When I say rooms I don’t mean physical room. It’s just the Sonos term for a setup.
Hello Peter! If I want to get a stereo pair to pair with sonos beam in the living room mainly for movies and video games, do you think symfonisk picture frame would be a better choice than sonos one sl gen 2? Because right now in the US, I can get a pair of the picture frame at $340 and a pair of sonos one sl gen 2 for $320. TIA!
No. If you have the one sl already, just go for the sub. It will give you a lot more. In any case, when paired as surrounds, speakers don’t do much of bass duties.
Hey Peter, great video as always. What are your thoughts on the 3rd party Sonosequencr app? I’m thinking of painting a Five and a Frame, what do you think? Many thanks 🙏🏻.
I have yet to try that app and I should at some point in time. The thing that stopped me from bothering was that you can pair different speakers into stereo but I think when I last researched about it, you can’t set different speakers as surrounds. Not sure if I was mistaken or if things have changed since.
Great video! I am using sonos play 1 initially as a pair then downgraded as a single speaker. After watching your video, planning to get the new frame speaker from Ikea, but cannot make up my mind to get a single or as a pair. whats your thoughts? Had wifi disruptions as a pair on Sonos play 1 before. Appreciate your input.
I really think everything should be in stereo pair. The sound stage will be much better. I had very little connectivity issues with the picture frames. The bookshelf gen 1 had more issues.
Hi, GREAT Video! Question though, the circular control knob you are using to pause the song playing thru speaker, what is the brand/model? I am interested in getting one.
seems like you could use the oval holes to mount to the ceiling using a Z clip I don't want to put big holes in the ceiling and run speaker wiring so I think you could ceiling mount and buy a cable cover
Hey Peter. Happy New Year. I needed a dedicated stereo setup for music as the Arc was not cutting it. I went ahead with a pair of pictureframes. I paired them up with the sub gen 3 and had to reduce the bass output to minus 7. Bass was too heavy. Wondering what Sonos set the cut off too. LOL. I was thinking of getting a sub mini to pair with the frames. What do you think?
Happy new year! I am playing around with the sub mini and pairing it with a few of the Symfonisk speakers. I think the picture frames themselves are very bass heavy already so might not need to get a sub.
@@PeterPee let me know your thoughts once you’ve completed your tests. Agreed on the bass response but with some songs I don’t get that deep bass which can only be achieved with a sub. But let’s see. LOL.
They can be used as rear surround speakers with Sonos beam. But currently you won’t be able to add them as front left and right. Sonos doesn’t allow any of their speakers to do it that way.
Hi Peter, would you consider TWO Symfonisk Picture frame as rears for the BEAM (since the BASS is great) or would you add a Sub mini for the BEAM? Thanks :)
Yes to all your questions. I simply love the picture frames. I am in the process of building a new listening room and fully intend to use the picture frames as rear surrounds!
Can I know if I use the symfonisk picture frame for maybe the left rear and the symfonisk table lamp as right rear speaker. I wonder how it will sound like. I hope u can try it. Thanks.
Can’t tell. Actually it looks certain that the Sonos ray will launch but unless it actually does we won’t know. Hold your decision first if you can wait.
@@PeterPee I've currently got two ones going with an arc and two subs. I was thinking about getting two fives but I can't justify spending that much to use them as surrounds.
@@TheNameless4000 Same here I have the same setup with an LG C1. So far I haven’t been that impressed with the ones for surround. Hoping that Sonos announces something like Sony RS5 to stay competitive.
Actually the ideal position is to the side wall but seriously you won’t be able to tell which is better or more accurate without a side by side comparison.
I see a lot of options regarding connecting via apple or mobile apps, but, let's say i want two of these as speakers firing from behind my bed, and taking its source from a LG C2 TV. How would I connect to it?
They will definitely do well as surrounds. If you already have surrounds, I’d say don’t need to upgrade. But if you are looking for surrounds to add to the system, they’d be a great choice!
@@PeterPee Thank you for your advice, and great videos! I have only Beam gen2 with LG C1 65" so far and I'm looking for surrounds. But perhaps I will still wait for the May announcement, if there will be something great for me. I would like to have surrounds with up-firing speakers.
The moment Sonos opens up that feature to allow us to pair speakers as discrete ceiling channels I’m going to find a way to mount these picture frames on my ceiling. Thanks for the idea!!!
@@PeterPee Haha, that's the plan! Though the new Samsung Q990b and LG S95QR are very competitive choices. Especially comparing it to the Sonos Arc ecosystem. My current thoughts are either just going with the q990b (SGD 1,899) with a Samsung tv to get the Q Symphony experience or LG tv (cause I prefer their TV tech) and S95QR (SGD 1,999) Or invest into the Sonos eco system with the arc + sub + 2 symfonisk picture frames (cheaper than getting 2 SLs) for SGD 3,125.20. Dollar wise no brainer. But no rear up-firing speakers. The key question is which gives the better value. Hope you'll get a chance to review them haha!
I have had nothing but trouble getting 2 of these frames to stay paired and connected to my wifi network. The pairing the process for these is horrible compared to my Sonos One and Beam speakers. The NFC pairing is a spotty and when the speakers disconnect and unpair I have to reset the speakers and do it all over again. I had a Amplify Wi-Fi 6 router and it’s been awful. My Sonos work great so it’s definitely something with these frame speakers that’s just garbage.
When my bookshelves were failing to connect properly, they were in the same location as the frames. So I think the frames should be a little better in the connectivity department than the bookshelves. But this is just purely my experience. Your environment might differ.
FYI, Sonos one and Symfonisk are exactly the same speaker, only difference between them are the panel.. lol. And The panel also sucks compared to a real panel speaker
To clarify, Peter actually pronounce it correctly, I asked my Swedish friend and he said it should be "ee- kea", if you don't believe you can see the ikea advert and in the end they pronounce ee-kea