Expert assessment
Advantages
- Strong sound
- Support of the Sonos ecosystem
- Discreet design
cons
- No official support for custom images
- No microphone for virtual assistants
- Set-up requires a drill and screws
Our verdict
The Symfonisk picture frame is an impressive speaker – mainly due to its unusual design – with the usual range of smart Sonos features and connectivity. It’s just a shame it’s limited to Ikea’s range of ready-made photos, which perversely means it can replace a speaker, but not an actual picture frame.
Price at review
$199.99
Best Prices Today: Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Picture Frame Speaker
Updated May 15, 2023: This review has been edited to reflect the addition of new artwork designs to the official range of photo frames and a new unofficial custom option from Symfonx.
The photo frame is the third part in the Symfonisk series, the collaboration between flat-pack furniture giant Ikea and sound specialist Sonos.
Like the two Symfonisk speakers that preceded it – one built into a lamp, the other designed to fit neatly into a bookshelf – the picture frame is designed to blend into the home without looking garishly technical.
The name is a bit misleading, as this isn’t a picture frame by any reasonable standards, but it’s a speaker designed to look like a piece of art hanging on the wall.
Despite this, the sound quality is impressive and compatibility with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem makes this a good buy as a standalone speaker or as an extension to an existing Sonos setup.
Design and build
- Mounted on the wall
- Interchangeable designs
- Cannot display your own images
The picture frame speaker is a slim, rectangular block measuring 41 x 57 cm – not quite wall-filling, but clearly designed to take pride of place in a room. Ikea also includes assembly instructions for provocatively leaning the frame against something instead of mounting it, but I’m really not sure why you’d do that unless you’re renting and aren’t allowed to drill holes in walls.
I’ve already mentioned that it’s not strictly a picture frame. That’s because you can’t mount your own artwork, photos, or prints on it, and are instead limited to Ikea’s pre-existing range of designs.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame designs](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_picture_frame_cover_designs_thumb.jpg)
The two standard options are a minimalist design of dots and lines, available in white or black – matching the body color of the frame to your choice. The fabric prints are interchangeable and at launch Ikea showed a range of fourteen different designs, available for $22 / £30 / €30 each, although not all of them have gone on sale worldwide.
Since its launch, Ikea has expanded its range with three designs based on famous works of art: Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Gustav Klimt’s The Tree of Life. Each of the three comes with a unique soundtrack by composer Franz Edvard Cedrins, inspired by the original painting.
![Symphonic frame open](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/symfonisk_frame_open_thumb.jpg)
The good news is that replacing or swapping the graphic is easy – it’s as easy as removing the fabric mesh from the body, as it’s only held in place by lightweight plastic pegs. The bad news is that because the fabric image is attached to a plastic frame, there’s no easy way to adapt it to your own artwork.
Fortunately, third-party companies have stepped in to do what Ikea and Sonos haven’t done so far. Companies like Usk and Symfonx have expanded the range of options available, allowing you to order from an extensive range of designs or even have your own images printed on fabric covers for the frame.
![Symfonx custom frame on Ikea Symfonisk](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG20230511154613.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Dominic Preston / Foundry
I tried out a Symfonx frame and had one of my own photos printed to go with the frame. It’s easy enough to upload an image, with clear instructions on file size and quality. I found the final version a bit muted compared to the photo I submitted, so keep that in mind when choosing a design.
The Symfonx case is lighter than the official one and attaches with magnets instead of plastic pins. It’s only a few minutes job to swap the design around, although I noticed a couple of the magnets didn’t seem to be holding as strong as the others so there are two spots where the print isn’t quite put together on my frame – that’s a pretty minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.
The sound quality also seems totally unaffected, and there’s nothing stopping you from trading back to how you had it before if you want to sell the frame in a few years.
At $79/£65, this is more expensive than any of the official options, but to me that’s a premium worth paying for the sake of custom design, rather than Ikea’s bland hotel art.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_frame-7_thumb.jpg)
The only other thing worth noting is that – at 60mm – the frame is quite thick, so it will protrude from the wall a bit. That makes it a bit more obvious that this is more than it looks, but the illusion still exists – I’ve surprised many visitors the moment the artwork’s music starts playing.
Setup and installation
- Requires drill and screws
- Digital installation is easy
- Power two speakers with one power cord
There are two elements to the setup here: physical and digital.
The physical side is simple enough, but requires some DIY knowledge and equipment. The frame comes with a metal bracket for wall mounting, but due to its weight of 3.8 kg, it requires more than a nail to be hammered into the wall.
To properly secure the bracket you will need a drill and screws (not supplied), so you should feel comfortable trying that – and have the right to, as not all tenants are allowed to drill holes in the walls. In any case, silicone rubber feet prevent your wall from getting scratched and also dampen vibrations from the speaker.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_frame-5_thumb.jpg)
You might think all the drilling is why Ikea offers the option to just prop the frame against a wall, but even for this the company recommends mounting the frame with screws, presumably to prevent the frame from damaging itself with overturns vibrations.
The frame is designed to be placed in either landscape or portrait orientation and has some extensive cable routing to keep cables tidy – although you’ll still be dealing with a dangling power cable unless you drill an extra hole to run it through your wall, or chase the wall down to a lower outlet and re-plaster. For extra tidiness, you can link two Symfonisk picture frames together with an inexpensive extra power cable, both of which come from the same outlet.
The good news is that if you can get past the mild hurdles of getting the thing on the wall, the digital half of the setup is painless. You’ll want to use the Sonos S2 app, and once signed in it only takes a few minutes to get the speaker on your Wi-Fi network (an Ethernet port is also included if you prefer, but that gives you an extra cable to worry about), with pairing handled by a quick tap of your phone where the power LED is visible on the speaker.
Sound quality
- Surprisingly powerful sound
- Slightly thin bass
This won’t be one of the best speakers you’ve ever heard, but it doesn’t have to be. The best speakers you’ve ever heard are probably big, bulky and blatantly technical – three things that aren’t.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_frame-8_thumb.jpg)
i shall say the sound quality Sonos has delivered here is remarkable considering the frame’s slim form factor. It can’t keep up with the Sonos Playbase I have for powering my TV audio and will probably lag the Sonos One a bit, but not by much.
On standard tuning, the bass is quite thin, with the driving bass line from Run the Jewels’ “Out of Sight” not having the pulsating feel it demands. The Sonos app’s basic EQ – just sliders for treble and bass – compensates for this somewhat, but has its limits.
The speaker’s strengths clearly lie in the higher registers, where the company’s crisp, clear sound profile shines through. If you’re mainly into pop and rock, you’ll get the most out of this speaker, with punchy vocals cutting through an open, balanced soundscape.
Smart features
- Compatible with the Sonos S2 app
- Wi-Fi or Ethernet only – no Bluetooth or aux
- Not a smart speaker
Like most Sonos speakers, the Symfonisk uses Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) to connect, rather than Bluetooth – and there’s no option for an aux cable either. You can play most streaming services through the speaker through the Sonos app, including Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and even oddities like Plex, meditation app Calm, and various online radio services. Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2 support make streaming even easier.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_frame-4_thumb.jpg)
iPhone and iPad owners can also use ‘Truplay’ to tune the speaker to the room it’s in for optimal audio, although sadly there’s no comparable feature for those of us on the Android side.
It’s worth noting that there are no microphones here, so this isn’t technically a smart speaker, although it can be connected to and controlled by other smart speakers and virtual assistants.
Thanks to the Sonos app, you can pair this with other Symfonisk and Sonos speakers for multi-room audio, seamlessly syncing sound throughout your home. You can also connect it to another Symfonisk picture frame to create a stereo pair in the same room.
The app can also be used for the basic audio options mentioned above and to control the speaker. If you like, physical buttons behind the edge of the frame let you control play/pause and volume – although this won’t help much if you’re mounting the speaker high up on a wall.
Price and availability
The picture frame speaker is available exclusively from Ikea – in-store or online. At £179 / €179 / $199, it’s the most expensive Symfonisk yet – you could pick up a pair of bookshelf speakers for the same price, with the bulb closer to the frame but still slightly cheaper.
![Ikea Sonos Symfonisk photo frame](https://images.techadvisor.com/cmsdata/reviews/3807928/ikea_sonos_symfonisk_frame-1_thumb.jpg)
Arguably the better comparison is that it’s right across from the £199 / $199 Sonos One, the main loudspeaker in the company’s range. That delivers better sound quality than the picture frame, albeit without the discrete form factor.
Pronunciation
The Symfonisk photo frame is another qualified success for the Ikea and Sonos collaboration. It can’t quite match the sound quality or simplicity of the lamp – still the best product in the range – but what the two companies have delivered here is undoubtedly impressive.
The main problem is the limitation of Ikea’s limited supply of ready-made photo designs, which perversely means it can’t really replace a regular picture frame in your home unless you happen to love some of the prints offered here or are willing to pay extra for a third-party solution to bring out the speaker’s full potential.