I’ve been testing wireless speakers for years now and that’s left me with certain expectations. Usually, if I see a big brand release a new Bluetooth speaker, it’ll be competing for mid-market dominance or prestige status. Conversely, the bargain bin end of the market tends to be the domain of scrappy yet relatively unheard of brands. But those expectations have been upended by the Ikea Kallsup.
With this cheap and cheerful speaker, Ikea isn’t just trying to add to the annals of the best Bluetooth speakers for those on a budget – it’s actively trying to undercut them. At just $10 / £10, it’s honestly one of the cheapest speakers I’ve ever gotten my hands on – literally the only one that cost less money was the $7 device I tested from Amazon, purely because I thought it would prove the perfect opportunity for some snark.
However, the Kallsup’s identity isn’t entirely built around its price tag – it’s got other virtues as well. On top of an unabashed sense of style that makes most speakers look like shrinking violets, it’s also able to connect to up to 99 of its brethren, forming a whole platoon of multi-room speakers. For less than the cost of a small pizza, that’s a pretty canny trick.
So what’s up with the Kallsup?
Honestly, I’m a little smitten with the Kallsup’s design. I’ve previously complained about how many wireless speakers seem to be cut from the same acoustically transparent cloth these days, so it’s actually really nice to see a device break all the rules.
Ikea’s speaker eschews the rounded edges and cream or black color palette that’s so ubiquitous with a lot of audio kit. Instead, it’s a sheer cube in white, lime green or hot pink – a little like if Keith Haring got really into brutalist architecture.
But I don’t think its boxy outline is just a way for Ikea to thumb its nose at more self-serious speaker designs – it also serves a far more practical purpose. Given the ridiculous number of these speakers you can pair together, this regular shape is clearly intended to be stackable, making it easy to build your own sonic skyscraper and max out its output.
So how does it sound? If I’m honest, at this price: better than it has any right to.
Given it measures only 3.5 inches / 9cm cubed, the Kallsup can put out pretty impressive volume without much distortion. Yes, it does tend to start limiting once you get up to 80% volume but many cheap speakers start to sound overdriven at much lower levels.
I doubt many readers will be surprised to hear that the Kallsup ain’t all about that bass, with sub being predictably absent. However, this speaker still makes a valiant effort, even if it can’t quite close the deal. Playing Listen by Pola & Bryson & goddard., it still sounded surprisingly feisty, giving the kick some punch and letting the bassline snarl just enough to be enjoyable.
Mids can actually be shockingly reasonable. Vocals in tunes like Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes by Paul Simon rise clear above the mix, giving everything a sense of space that belies the speaker’s diminutive size. It does a decent job with treble too: when playing songs like Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac, there’s not so much brittleness that the high end grates, although some of the guitars’ harmonics and drum transients seem to fight each other more than attempting to work together.
But this is one speaker working solo. Surely you’ll get much better performance when you hook up 100 of them? Well, before you drop a cool $1,000 / £1,000 on your own set of sonic building blocks, it’s worth considering what you’re aiming to achieve.
More speakers won’t unlock frequencies a single speaker can’t manage, so don’t expect these to take the place of your favorite floorstanders. What they can do, however, is increase the volume, making them a solid option if your desired impact is shock and awe, rather than audio quality.
Being able to connect this many speakers together also means you can easily use them to create an ersatz multi-room speaker system – while still getting change for your $100 / £100. I definitely see the appeal here: I’m already tempted to throw a party with a bunch of these speakers forming a breadcrumb trail all around the house and garden. Not only does this make creating seamless audio experiences far cheaper but it’s also so much more flexible than it would be with bulkier devices.
So am I going to ditch my rugged JBL Charge 5 or super-luxe Cambridge Audio Evo One for a collection of Kallsups? Hardly. But, having tested it out, I can definitely envision situations where IKEA’s speaker is more fun, flexible and affordable than any of the other available options.
The best Bluetooth speakers for all budgets
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josh.russell@futurenet.com (Josh Russell)
