An enormous cityscape of stackable guava-colored boxes I compared a dozen
$10 IKEA speakers to one $120 JBL speaker to see whether sheer numbers are a substitute for better sound engineering

Date:
Mon, 04 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Description:
I cobbled together a constellation of 12 $10 Ikea speakers to see how they compared to a single $120 JBL one.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Its hard to know which factor drew more surprise on the announcement of the IKEA Kallsup . Was it the fact that this Bluetooth speaker was priced at a seriously cheap price of just
$10? Or was it the fact that you could link up to 99 of them to form an enormous cityscape of stackable guava-colored noise boxes?

When I tested the Kallsup for the first time , it was the ludicrously low cost and its networked features that drew my attention most, which is why I described it at the time as fun, flexible and affordable. While its sound quality wasn't exactly top tier, that impressive connectivity certainly
piqued my curiosity. Id always been planning to try pairing a few Kallsups together once they were on general release, even if just to establish they partnered up as well as some of the best Bluetooth speakers . Article continues below You may like JBL Charge 6 vs Marshall Middleton II: two
mighty mid-sized speakers duke it out JBL Clip 5 vs Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4: two flyweights punch it out in a closely-contested Bluetooth speaker
battle I spent a day at an elite hi-fi show to pick out 6 affordable speakers and hi-res players even I'd buy, so maybe you can too

But after my eyes alighted on TechRadars JBL Flip 7 , an impish thought occurred: the price youd now pay for the Flip 7 is the same as a dozen of the IKEA speakers. And who hasnt at some point wondered what would win a showdown between 12 $10 speakers and one $120 speaker?

Rather than get bogged down in mundane concerns like is this a practical use of my time? or is my partner going to object to me flooding every spare surface in our living room with pink plastic cubes?, we purchased a dozen Kallsups. Once they arrived, I grabbed the JBL Flip 7, set up my magenta Stonehenge, and settled in for my grand experiment. (Image credit: Future) More = better?? Going into this, I was obviously skeptical that mere multiplication was going to turn a $10 speaker into a worthy rival for an
$120 one. But blow me down: it turns out that lots of bargain-bin speakers
are far superior in terms of sound quality than one mid-priced one.

No, obviously Im joking. Theyre not. Sadly, that would require some major rewriting of the laws of physics. Small drivers can only cover a certain frequency range, and whether you have two or 40 of them, youre not going to regain parts of the spectrum they were never able to reproduce alone. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The IKEA Kallsups fared best when it comes to the mid-range. Playing Ordinary Love by Elder Island, I was surprised how competently that constellation of full-range drivers did of showing off the tracks ravey synths, while the percussion felt a little more dynamic than on the JBL. However, I definitely think the Flip 7 more deftly handled its gorgeous house-y vocals, giving them a touch more polish and presence. (Image credit: Future) Unfortunately, the competition quickly became a wash when I strayed out of the Kallsups' frequency sweet spot. Trying out Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac on both speakers, the difference was stark. While the JBL largely walks the line between oversaturation and dullness, the IKEA array made the rhythm guitars and cymbals feel, oxymoronically, muted while also sounding a bit sharp and glassy.

Bass similarly feels overlooked. When I dropped Us by Pola & Bryson, the JBL definitely flubbed the sub-bass, but it still did an adequate job of
conveying the distorted bass synth, and the kick drum packed plenty of punch. What to read next The best Bluetooth speakers you can buy, all tested by our experts 'It would be difficult to find a better speaker for under 50' well, this Anker SoundCore 2 is now under 25 I spent a day listening to 'money no object' audio systems at an elite hi-fi show to find 11 products I'd buy, if
I won the lottery

Conversely, on the Kallsup, the tracks drop was rough not only was there no sub-bass, there was barely any low-end of any kind, while the kick felt pinched and thin. These little units simply arent built for bass, no matter how many you amass. The case for shedloads of small, cheap speakers (Image credit: Future) So is the ability to hook up this many speakers completely unnecessary? Not quite. While they wont give you better sound quality, a raft of cheap speakers does seem to help in a few circumstances.

Perhaps the most obvious is that youll get a more omnidirectional sound.
Given I could place speakers all around me, the Kallsups' presentation was much more dome-like than the single point that the JBLs sound issued from.
Its not going to be a substitute for a genuine surround or Dolby Atmos setup, which will pinpoint various elements at a precise point in space, but its probably the cheapest way to feel like youre sitting at the heart of a hemisphere of sound.

Another benefit is the boost in dynamic range. Not only do more speakers mean youll get a higher max volume, but it will actually increase the dynamics exponentially, meaning quiet elements stay quiet and louder ones get much
more so. Thats what made the boldest instruments like synths stand out even more during my tests, with them getting an extra boost compared to the background level. (Image credit: Future) Still, Id argue that the most compelling use case of the Kallsups connectivity is it offers a really cheap way to multi-room your tunes. While putting the best Sonos speakers in every key room in your house could set you back a substantial amount of money, the Kallsup is so ludicrously cheap that theres almost no barrier to spreading music throughout your home.

Theres not even any reason to limit it to one speaker a room. During my student days, we threw plenty of house parties with DJs mixing and a huge rig in the living room. Had IKEAs Kallsup existed in those days, it would have been a fun way to bring the tunes up throughout the whole house, so that you could even hear them in the hall or going up the stairs.

So there are definite benefits to having a lot of smaller speakers that
extend past simple sound quality. And while Id personally prefer a selection of speakers that offered a little more bass oomph or high-end clarity, that doesnt mean I cant see the value of this kind of huge network of lil wireless speakers. JBL Flip 7 deals 39 View 129.99 89.99 View 129.99 109 View Show
more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices powered by IKEA KALLSUP deals No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices powered by Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best Bluetooth speakers for all budgets Our
top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best Bluetooth speakers 1. Best overall: JBL Flip 7 2. Best cheap: JBL Clip 5 3. Best high-end option: Bang & Olufsen A1 3rd
Gen 4. Best party speaker: Tribit Stormbox Blast 2



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/wireless-bluetooth-speakers/i-compared-a-dozen -ikea-speakers-to-one-jbl-speaker


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)