Sonos reveals clever new speaker that does more than just play music

Sonos has launched the second iteration of its table lamp speaker as part of its ongoing collaboration with flatpack furniture maestros IKEA. The speaker has been launched under the same Symfonisk brand that saw the first-generation table lamp, bookshelf speaker, and picture frame. All of these speakers are designed to bring the same audio quality and clever wireless audio technology that Sonos is known for, while blending into the décor of your home – rather than standing out as some standalone speakers can do.

The second-generation Symfonisk table lamp speaker arrives with an enhanced sound experience, updated features and customisable designs. But best of all, it fixes some of the shortcomings of the original table lamp speaker, which launched back in 2019.

While the original design had a circular dial that looked like it would act like a dimmer switch or a volume dial, it was just a standard power button. The original speaker also only worked with the less common E12 bulb size, which IKEA has moved to the standard E26 base with the latest generation.

If you want to use a smart bulb with the Symfonisk table lamp speaker to turn on the light with a voice command or choose between millions of colours, the second-generation design from IKEA and Sonos is worth the upgrade alone.

To enable a new level of personalisation – something that’s key to the philosophy behind the Symfonisk brand – the new table lamp is now divided between the base and the lamp shade, which are now sold separately. Customers can choose between a black or white version of the lamp base, as well as a choice of four different lamp shades in either textile or glass, also in black or white, to mix and match for ultimate personalisation and to meet all style needs.

Speaking about the design choices that went into the new table lamp speaker, IKEA’s Alistair Lowther said: “Since launching the first Symfonisk table lamp speaker, we learned a lot about how and where they are being used. For example, a lot of people use the lamp speaker on a nightstand, which led us to create a new, slightly smaller lamp base.

“We’re now also offering customers more design choices to better suit their own individual tastes and styles. By integrating a speaker into a table lamp, we can save space, decrease clutter, and allow people to personalise the atmosphere within their home through both light and sound.”

But the changes in the second-generation Symfonisk table lamp speaker aren’t only cosmetic. According to the team behind the speaker, the new lamp speaker features a completely new acoustic architecture that uses a custom waveguide, creating a great sound experience from any angle.

Just like the original version of the speaker, it streams audio over Wi-Fi – providing better audio quality than Bluetooth, and ensuring that you’ll never hear the BLEEP! of a notification interrupting your favourite song or podcast. The table lamp speaker can be used as the only sound source in a room, or it can be connected with other Sonos products, including those from the Symfonisk range and those created by Sonos.

As with all Symfonisk products, the speaker is also part of the Sonos system, easily connecting listeners to more than 100 streaming services – from Spotify to Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer, as well as radio stations from TuneIn, podcasts, and a good old fashioned music library from iTunes.

Highlighting the audio capabilities of the new speaker, Sara Morris, Principal Product Manager at Sonos, added: “As people continue to invest in their spaces, they’re finding creative ways to showcase their personal style, and sound has quickly become an important element for creating the right atmosphere. In addition to its smaller size and variety of design options, the new Symfonisk table lamp speaker provides a wider and more room-filling sound, creating a great listening experience regardless of where you place it in your home.”

The new SYMFONISK table lamp speaker is available in IKEA stores across the UK and on IKEA.com. The lamp base and shades are sold separately, with the base costing £159, fabric shades adding £20 and the all-new glass shades costing an extra £40.