Ikea’s Latest Speakers in the Post-Sonos Era Rethink the Draw of Old-School Hi-Fi

For longtime audiophiles, high-fidelity sound is only half the draw. Or, at least it used to be …

With each passing release, sound technology blurs into the background, hidden behind small black boxes or even tucked away in furniture, such as sofas.

It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, hi-fi gear was furniture, displayed with pride and personality for all to admire.

This is the premise of Solskydd, Ikea’s new line of speakers following the brand’s breakup with Sonos earlier this year.

Ikea

“Home electronics are often seen as purely functional, something many people want to hide,” says Sara Ottosson, a product developer at Ikea.

“We’re treating speakers with the same care as the rest of the home, so they contribute to a room’s atmosphere.”

Ikea

Sound you can see

Solskydd, which translates to “sun protection” from Swedish, consists of three speakers of varying sizes, each featuring a custom graphic from renown colorist Tekla Evelina Severin.

Ikea

“I was chasing a soothing feeling from the past,” the designer says. “The mint green came from a childhood memory, and I even went to my grandparents’ home to match it to the exact shade of an old bar of soap I remembered.”

Ikea

The small and medium speakers come with upright bases, or they can be mounted on the wall alongside the largest one (which excludes the base).

All three function with Bluetooth and support Spotify Tap for seamless streaming.

Ikea

On the technical side, the smallest of the bunch measures eight inches and puts out 80.5dB of sound. It also comes with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 25 hours of continuous playback.

The other sizes (which measure 11 and 18 inches) pair a one-inch tweeter with four-inch woofers, producing up to 83.6dB and 93.6dB of sound, respectively.

Ikea

Starting at $80

With prices between $80 and $140, it’s somewhat futile to try and compare the sonic capabilities of Ikea’s speakers with, say, a pair of vintage Klipschorns — especially when factoring in Bluetooth connections and even lossless streaming from Spotify.

But if you want to go there, it’s important to remember that, once upon a time, premium sound was only half the draw.

The Solskydd collection rolls out next month in select markets, with a US release scheduled for early 2026.

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