Yes! Voice control support on a speaker sounds like a feature that should be optional. _Oh, want Alexa integration? Why not consider just using an Echo Input?_ (Edit: while Google Assistant on my new phone continues to bug me, but I can disable those notifications)
VERY informative video. Thank you so much! Currently in Katowice, Poland this speaker is sold for ~21USD. Which I think is a great price for such product, at the initial price you can by almost three units, which together I think can fill a pretty huge room. ;) The lack of BT paring between them sucks though.
The info available for these has been thin. This video is very helpful to anyone who saw them on the shelf, but wanted to know more before pulling the trigger.
The minimal retro look is this company signature in almost all of their products!Some they even dont have the knobs or the enclosure box to cut production costs and to give freedom to customise them!
That bluetooth turn on sound is a standard in many bluetooth products. Even my non-ikea mini bluetooth to aux device makes that noise when I turn it on.
My $20 Monoprice Bluetooth headphones and a dirt cheap dollar store rechargable shower speaker I got (which sounds stupidly good for the $3 I paid) both make the same sound too.
This is because the startup sound is part of the Bluetooth modules firmware and takes up a small portion of its small internal flash memory, some modules have a voice prompt instead.
I picked up two of these with the woofer. Good sound overall and battery to last quite a long time - much longer than the advertised time. I played music in my office for 2.5 work days before it powered down.
Awesome video! Love that you make these reviews of the ikea sound equipment. As others have claimed, there’s very limited info about these so it’s great that you go into such rich detail.
These are manufactured by IKEA. TE did the industrial design and were likely involved in testing. Electrical design and manufacturing was handled by ikea.
Hmm, TE seems all over the place in terms of quality and price. The Pocket Operators are great, the OP-1 is lovely but horribly overpriced, and while the OP-Z is terrific and good bit cheaper they've been plagued with production problems including warped units. Perhaps at the bottom of the barrel is their modular analog synths which are unremarkable in terms of sound and features, have bad ergonomics (the cheap hard-on-the-fingers knobs, wobbly rack, etc) and yet are still not especially inexpensive despite requiring customer assembly. And now there are these pretty average mono speakers.
Im glad they labeled Aux Out L and aux out R so hopefully you can just cut a trace, wire it up to solve the stereo problem, maybe even just make a DSDT switch to change left and right channels on both speakers at will :D
I like the look of that one with the yellow... Super sharp. All the hackers out there could easily add a USB port and buttons though, just 3D print a new front panel for the bottom part, cut some holes, add the buttons and port, and BAM
The bluetooth startup sound is used in the vast majority of bluetooth audio products (soeakers, headphones, and aux-bluetooth adapters). Ive heard it a million times from various different products and completely seperate companies.
Yep same from $5 Junk mono Bluetooth speakers sold at places like Dollar General, to Philips Bluetooth headphones I've owned that cost me way way more!!!
It’s really interesting to watch how Ikea slowly learns to exist in this (new for them) product category. I’m still waiting for line of speakers that can connect in stereo (like symfonisk line) and have physical input option like jack or optical
I think it's just a matter of time. These first few models have been very low-risk for them since they haven't had to invest much into launching them (basically, just the exterior design). As they get comfortable with selling technology I think they'll be willing to make more advanced products.
I wonder if soldering a USB port to the leads would allow playback from a USB stick in some way. Maybe some undisclosed series of clicks on the only button, like old iPod Shuffles.
Do people still do that? Why... I’d like to see what I’m playing, and be able to search for albums so my phone works the best with Spotify and my local flacs as well, so I can’t imagine having to use something like a shuffle. Technically you can get a Chinese usb player with a phono out and just plug it in, but usually that requires a separate power supply. You’d have to do heavy modding to just play off a usb drive direct.. maybe a raspberry pi could be programmed to be a brain to change and display current song and it could fit inside the speaker and probably could take a 5v line to power the pi BUT STILL ITS SO MUCH EFFORT because I doubt the chips inside are capable of usb support BUT AGAIN WHY it’s cheaper and much less hassle to get a MP3 player or a cheap phone and use that via Bluetooth or audio jack. OR even better, just buy something that does what you want out the box, if usb is what you really want..
3:40 always assume with IKEA it's awkward/different because it's also used for something else. IKEA is the Taco Bell of home furniture/accessories: as few ingredients as possible, for as many menu items as possible.
I think the key to understand here is that they are party speakers .. extremely loud and solid sound reproduction and it that setting they perform solid. It's also a simple "let's go" design that doesn't require a lot of filtering, mixing, setup, etc as you usually need to do with your PA speakers. They definitely not your casual BT speaker ...
The speakers they make are made to be simple, they remove things like the USB for most folk that buy a IKEA speaker will have it in a shelf or take them out to the balcony when having a a cup of coffee, and do often fit perfectly into some of IKEAs best selling bookshelf systems. I have a Eneby at home that I'm happy with, I am no huge audiophile and I am even happy with the smaller portable Eneby that just give my phone audio a boost when I am outdoors, this is a speaker for the common Joe and for folk that want some sound but not a party system. But I has to say this video was great and a good teardown that provide good facts, and I got interested in the speakers after I saw this video for it looks like they fit my needs and design taste.
According to teenage engineering’s Instagram account I saw they answer some stuff that you in curious about. teenage engineering joined as designing overall of its collection but not technical thing.. As intended just for party and also this is limited-run collection I guess IKEA engineers might do cut corners or maybe too many corners ... anyway I love the design and your vid. That’s great bro
I really like that the powersupply is separate inside! My mothers old DAB+ radio had a faulty 12v supply inside and I just swapped that with an external universal laptop supply. I could probably find a similar supply at my country electronic store, same pinout and size. I have done that to a LCD screen. But it costs. Hehe
The Blitzwolf bluetooth speaker that I got a few years ago has the exact same startup sounds (the last double beep is for when it connects), so it's probably built into the ROM of the whole line of controller chips.
I've been in Ikea last week and these are selling like hotcakes, some hipsters were literally buying whole sets of the speakers and connected lights/strobo sets.
I got the one with the sub. Sound is much more balanced than without it especially since the sub has a level control. You can also get some serious bass out of it.
TE has a pinned group of stories called "Q&A" where is also written : please note: we're only responsible for the design [...] regarding manifacturing and technical concerns, please ask IKEA. So TE designed only the "shell" for the audio hardware. Do you think it is possible to add the USB port and use a usb-stick as source of music? Thank you for the video! Simo
Thanks! The most important info - whether it can play stereo. I have no idea why anyone even bothers manufacturing something that can't do stereo - complete waste of money, resources, time, marketing, oportunity... everything.
Daisy chaining these speakers as they were designed to, audio will get more distorted down the line due to A/D, D/A conversions, while I do appreciate the simple way it works without needing to pair or set up using any app, it could be better considering now true wireless stereo has come to fruition.
If you purchase the model including the woofer you get a descent sounding speaker. In EU it´s 99,99€ (incl.Tax, Germany). The missing Stereo feature (bluetooth and even "analog-by-switch") is a real stopper. I´ve thought purchasing frekvens multiple times to get a "crazy set-up"; but without that stereo option it´s not worth to think more about. Is there any other information available that disagrees with that?
Pretty much every bluetooth device I have makes the same sound. Everyone is using the same code it appears. Also, Teenage engineering is pretty great. Design between the two seemed like a no-brainer.
The fact that you can get a good idea of what it sounds like from pointing a mic at it and listening with good headphones is alarming. If this is fairly good compared to most bluetooth speakers, I don't think I'll be buying a bluetooth speaker any time soon.
2:00 That reminds me: The Singaporean IKEA stores don't seem to stock the ENEBY batteries, so they probably won't stock batteries for these either, although I believe the last time I checked was in November 2019. 8:28 I now believe that's the reason why a lot of Likebook e-reader models use the Rockchip RK3368, as they don't provide Android development targets for Android 7 and newer for that, only 5 and 6.
I think this review is missing the point that this speaker, being a teenage-engineering design, is aimed to be a retro, minimalist party speaker. This means that mono signals are desired and extra buttons are undesired. Plus, who uses usb with a portable speaker nowadays tbh? Regarding the muffled high frequencies tho, could not agree more. Having bought the sub too, I was absolutely impressed by the loudness and bass they deliver, but the treble is simply trash.
Not surprised to see them use some discontinued chip seeing this is a limited single run production item, they will simply order a quantity and that be it. So yeah if you can get a batch of chips no one else wanted to begin with and certainly not now as they aren't made anymore a product like this is ideal for it.
My AmazonBasics Bluetooth speaker also makes the same noises and has an AUX input jack. Seems like this is just a fancy case with off-the-shelf parts stuffed into it.
Interesting analysis. A newish product line at a global scale. Tbh I feel adding buttons need for usb playback along with the port would make the product too busy. I mean just look at the back of the display model in the store with the sub attached. Also the only mono thing is anything for audio people but IKEA’s target market is a lot bigger than audio people. If they added a toggle or something most people would just intentionally or accidentally bump it to the left or right channel for the life of the product. And either not notice or think their speaker sounds bad or is broken.
A) important to keep in mind that ikea has announced an entire smart-home division. It’s maturity is unknown, but “for all intents and purposes” they should be making this if they’re serious. B) aside from the bass instinct of wanting more compatibility, which I also have, it’s a better product without the USB. I wouldn’t ding them for not including a feature (that I’ve only seen implemented poorly) while keeping what look like test traces.
The USB socket is easy enough to add. Does the main circuit bord offer the possibility to add the buttons to? Or do they need to be connected to the legs of that blue board?
There was supposed to be a turntable available too. Seems like it was cancelled? I really like the look. Might put one in the kitchen for casual radio/podcast listening
Honestly haven't found a BT speaker to beat the HK Go & Play 2016 for $150 on discounts. It's amazing. Powerful bass like JBL, but with really good highs and mids, without muffled sound which JBL have to achieve heavy bass.
they could've just added a "L/mono/R" switch in the back and just pass through the stereo signal to line out so each speaker can just play the signal it needs. that's literally one switch they've saved there...
I think honestly a smart speaker that has analog input and is just Bluetooth driven is better than the ones driven by internal operating systems and voice. Sonos speakers have a time limit of when they will stop working and being supported, and that’s likely the same for all of the smart speakers with that design philosophy. My HomePod has no inputs at all so if Apple decides to discontinue Siri or steaming support for it in the future I’ll have a 300 dollar brick
I mean no joke: this modular system and creative possibilities to stick these together and how insanely crazy they look afterwards habe me hooked! I am seriously considering spending 300 bugs on sone ikea boxes although i got better ones, just to have these otherwordly E S T H E T I C S in my room :D
The thing seems a little awkward in many ways. Like you mentioned it is mono which makes it awkward as a standalone speaker. The piece also makes it to expensive for a fun and cheap hack project. There is simply better Bluetooth speakers for less.
@9:45 my interpretation of the numbers ... 7.55 is a reference code, 10 or 15 is a number for the wattage and 01/05 maybee revision date. it would have been nice if you had shown the speaker chassis to us.
My Bose QC35 II headphones make the same exact sound when powering on... Does this mean that Eneby and Frekvens are the same as Bose QC35 II in a "different enclosure"? Nope, it just means that all of the 3 products are using the same BT circuitry or perhaps different models made by the same manufacturer...
I was worried I might have bought the Eneby too soon. Now I know it was the best choice. I assume it's easier to hear the difference in real life, but even through headphones there is a big difference between these two speakers. Gotta love the design, but then again the Eneby design isn't half bad either (I have it in black). Maybe I should paint the handle yellow? 🤪 We will see~
I really like the colorful design of this new speaker but the Eneby design isn’t too shabby either. I remember thinking I just *had* to have it when it first came out and after watching this video, I also feel that getting the Eneby was the right choice. Better sound and lower price
Besides Ikeas line of Bluetooth speakers, what is the best quality for your money? I have a Bose portable, and so far it's sound and portability haven't been beaten for me in 5 years. What would you recommend?
Having spent like 5 grand on many bluetooth speakers, the only ones worth considering are the minirigs. Or if size is not a problem, the soundboxx. Any other choices are just irrelevant. :(
Which channel is played on the speaker? Left, right or both? If they only play one channel directly and have stereo on line out, it at least would be realistically possible to get stereo out of these.
I know that power-on sound intimately, and it never fails to make me gag. edit: so 'actions-semi' is behind most of the cheap, sh*tty bluetooth speakers? @ 5:33 edit 2: just looked up my minirig mini on the fcc's webpage. the absence of this annoyance appears to be from their use of texas instruments' PA3136D2
Not having Alexa or a microphone is my favourite feature!!
Yes! Voice control support on a speaker sounds like a feature that should be optional. _Oh, want Alexa integration? Why not consider just using an Echo Input?_
(Edit: while Google Assistant on my new phone continues to bug me, but I can disable those notifications)
Exactly, it isn't like for at least $100 more they could implement software that enables smart function like that.
You can just buy the ENEBY if you want a plain BT speaker..
@@kbhasi Microphones are not only used for smart assistances, you know?
@@resneptacle
I edited my comment to reflect that.
About half my bluetooth speakers have that startup sound, I think it's more indicative of sharing software than anything else
They are becoming standard audio logos like the ones for play, stop, pause, next, etc.
Yeah I have an akai speaker and it's sounds exactly the same
@@theMF69 I have Bluetooth headphones that do that.
Dilbics Inc.
Same
Yeah, my cheapy Chinese BT car adaptor does the same, seems to be a different chipset from the one in this speaker, too.
Your production quality is great, puts so many other way bigger channels to shame!
VERY informative video. Thank you so much! Currently in Katowice, Poland this speaker is sold for ~21USD. Which I think is a great price for such product, at the initial price you can by almost three units, which together I think can fill a pretty huge room. ;) The lack of BT paring between them sucks though.
The info available for these has been thin. This video is very helpful to anyone who saw them on the shelf, but wanted to know more before pulling the trigger.
I do like the design. Sort of, 1970's portable radio.
Yeah it's retrofuturism. A lot of designs seem to be going this way, taking the simplicity of old products and mixing it with modern functionality.
@@Ferrichrome Wonder when they start taking ques from the sixties. Finned cars, chrome....
@@Ferrichrome i really want more of this aesthetic
The minimal retro look is this company signature in almost all of their products!Some they even dont have the knobs or the enclosure box to cut production costs and to give freedom to customise them!
Indeed. Reminds me of those nice sounding Proton, Braun and ADS radios/ stereos of the 80s too.
That bluetooth turn on sound is a standard in many bluetooth products. Even my non-ikea mini bluetooth to aux device makes that noise when I turn it on.
You're absolutely correct, the same sound is used in lots of devices. This does not provide any information about the quality or brand.
My $20 Monoprice Bluetooth headphones and a dirt cheap dollar store rechargable shower speaker I got (which sounds stupidly good for the $3 I paid) both make the same sound too.
Its IEC standard bluetooth 🔊 sound
I was going to say this xD
This is because the startup sound is part of the Bluetooth modules firmware and takes up a small portion of its small internal flash memory, some modules have a voice prompt instead.
man I came here to check the product but i fall in love with your attection to constructive details, nice done
I picked up two of these with the woofer. Good sound overall and battery to last quite a long time - much longer than the advertised time. I played music in my office for 2.5 work days before it powered down.
Awesome video! Love that you make these reviews of the ikea sound equipment. As others have claimed, there’s very limited info about these so it’s great that you go into such rich detail.
very interesting piece. I really like your delivery style and content decisions. Unfussy, understated and articulate. Subscribed.
I had some waterproof shower speaker that made those exact same sounds too 😂. I immediately recognized it when I heard it in your video.
Same for my JBL headphones!
Same for my anker speaker. The power on sound is the same, but the pairing sound is slightly different.
Ah yes. The $4 ones from AliExpress with a suction cup foot. (I have one too but didn't make the connection until I saw your comment.)
Are you sure the volume knob is painted? It could be a double-shot component, with a thin outer layer of black plastic with blue filler.
So much detail in the review! Thank you.
The design reminds me of Dieter Rams' work. I love it.
I'm not much of an audiophile, but you make this really interesting, Colin. Thanks!
Teenage Engineering... Nice looking high quality stuff that is *slightly* overpriced... Nice :D
Baum Inventions yooooooooo Baum 🔥🐲
@@CeziHD Moin Moin du alte Rakete :D
These are manufactured by IKEA. TE did the industrial design and were likely involved in testing. Electrical design and manufacturing was handled by ikea.
Christopher Bolte // BØLT yes...
Hmm, TE seems all over the place in terms of quality and price. The Pocket Operators are great, the OP-1 is lovely but horribly overpriced, and while the OP-Z is terrific and good bit cheaper they've been plagued with production problems including warped units. Perhaps at the bottom of the barrel is their modular analog synths which are unremarkable in terms of sound and features, have bad ergonomics (the cheap hard-on-the-fingers knobs, wobbly rack, etc) and yet are still not especially inexpensive despite requiring customer assembly. And now there are these pretty average mono speakers.
Im glad they labeled Aux Out L and aux out R so hopefully you can just cut a trace, wire it up to solve the stereo problem, maybe even just make a DSDT switch to change left and right channels on both speakers at will :D
... and in the next episode you will be modding the speaker to add a USB port and test media playback right?
Domaudeo I second that!
also redoing the pinout for the output to give stereo playback. Seems like it would be easy to do with the way the analog output is.
I like the look of that one with the yellow... Super sharp.
All the hackers out there could easily add a USB port and buttons though, just 3D print a new front panel for the bottom part, cut some holes, add the buttons and port, and BAM
Finally a speaker without smart features and microphones! I really want to buy one now.
The bluetooth startup sound is used in the vast majority of bluetooth audio products (soeakers, headphones, and aux-bluetooth adapters). Ive heard it a million times from various different products and completely seperate companies.
Yep same from $5 Junk mono Bluetooth speakers sold at places like Dollar General, to Philips Bluetooth headphones I've owned that cost me way way more!!!
I have got this at a special price $25.
I am so happy on its great sound.
It’s really interesting to watch how Ikea slowly learns to exist in this (new for them) product category. I’m still waiting for line of speakers that can connect in stereo (like symfonisk line) and have physical input option like jack or optical
I think it's just a matter of time. These first few models have been very low-risk for them since they haven't had to invest much into launching them (basically, just the exterior design). As they get comfortable with selling technology I think they'll be willing to make more advanced products.
I wonder if soldering a USB port to the leads would allow playback from a USB stick in some way. Maybe some undisclosed series of clicks on the only button, like old iPod Shuffles.
Do people still do that? Why... I’d like to see what I’m playing, and be able to search for albums so my phone works the best with Spotify and my local flacs as well, so I can’t imagine having to use something like a shuffle. Technically you can get a Chinese usb player with a phono out and just plug it in, but usually that requires a separate power supply. You’d have to do heavy modding to just play off a usb drive direct.. maybe a raspberry pi could be programmed to be a brain to change and display current song and it could fit inside the speaker and probably could take a 5v line to power the pi BUT STILL ITS SO MUCH EFFORT because I doubt the chips inside are capable of usb support BUT AGAIN WHY it’s cheaper and much less hassle to get a MP3 player or a cheap phone and use that via Bluetooth or audio jack. OR even better, just buy something that does what you want out the box, if usb is what you really want..
@@maksqwe1 99.9% curiosity and discovery, 0.1% to actually use it.
This is probably the most detailed review of a product that clearly doesn’t deserve it.
3:40 always assume with IKEA it's awkward/different because it's also used for something else. IKEA is the Taco Bell of home furniture/accessories: as few ingredients as possible, for as many menu items as possible.
(dark) Blue plastic is the cheapest plastic color to produce/buy. Interestingly, pink is the most expensive.
@@killerkonnat most interesting yet useless fact I've ever read.
You should try to restore the USB functionally, that would be an interesting video
I think the key to understand here is that they are party speakers .. extremely loud and solid sound reproduction and it that setting they perform solid. It's also a simple "let's go" design that doesn't require a lot of filtering, mixing, setup, etc as you usually need to do with your PA speakers. They definitely not your casual BT speaker ...
The speakers they make are made to be simple, they remove things like the USB for most folk that buy a IKEA speaker will have it in a shelf or take them out to the balcony when having a a cup of coffee, and do often fit perfectly into some of IKEAs best selling bookshelf systems. I have a Eneby at home that I'm happy with, I am no huge audiophile and I am even happy with the smaller portable Eneby that just give my phone audio a boost when I am outdoors, this is a speaker for the common Joe and for folk that want some sound but not a party system.
But I has to say this video was great and a good teardown that provide good facts, and I got interested in the speakers after I saw this video for it looks like they fit my needs and design taste.
big respect for this video. it is very professional and you can tell alot of work went into it!
Digging the Lakey Inspired background track.
According to teenage engineering’s Instagram account I saw they answer some stuff that you in curious about. teenage engineering joined as designing overall of its collection but not technical thing.. As intended just for party and also this is limited-run collection I guess IKEA engineers might do cut corners or maybe too many corners ... anyway I love the design and your vid. That’s great bro
I really like that the powersupply is separate inside! My mothers old DAB+ radio had a faulty 12v supply inside and I just swapped that with an external universal laptop supply.
I could probably find a similar supply at my country electronic store, same pinout and size. I have done that to a LCD screen. But it costs. Hehe
These speakers have an aesthetic
The boot sound is just the default sound of the Qualcomm chips used on most of the wireless portable speaker around the world.
The Blitzwolf bluetooth speaker that I got a few years ago has the exact same startup sounds (the last double beep is for when it connects), so it's probably built into the ROM of the whole line of controller chips.
That Bluetooth control sounds similar to my Weston Bluetooth MMCX cable
Very informative and polished, Colin. Thanks for sharing
I've been in Ikea last week and these are selling like hotcakes, some hipsters were literally buying whole sets of the speakers and connected lights/strobo sets.
bruh, hipsters died in 2014
I got the one with the sub. Sound is much more balanced than without it especially since the sub has a level control. You can also get some serious bass out of it.
TE has a pinned group of stories called "Q&A" where is also written :
please note:
we're only responsible for the design [...] regarding manifacturing and technical concerns, please ask IKEA.
So TE designed only the "shell" for the audio hardware.
Do you think it is possible to add the USB port and use a usb-stick as source of music?
Thank you for the video!
Simo
If you look at some of the products on Teenage Engineering’s web site, you can see the design language from the speaker.
Thanks! The most important info - whether it can play stereo. I have no idea why anyone even bothers manufacturing something that can't do stereo - complete waste of money, resources, time, marketing, oportunity... everything.
I was briefly considering this setup, but not being able to have stereo is downright stupid. Thank you for the review.
Can you please do a video in witch you can tell the options of running them in stereo and also mod for the USB? Thanks
Daisy chaining these speakers as they were designed to, audio will get more distorted down the line due to A/D, D/A conversions, while I do appreciate the simple way it works without needing to pair or set up using any app, it could be better considering now true wireless stereo has come to fruition.
This looks pretty easy to repair when it breaks down. Except this chip that you couldn't find datasheet. Also it has really interesting design :D
The tweeter is not flush with front panel. This setup creates harsh directional high end if not some resonance due to reflections of the sucken edge.
Another beautiful video! Thanks, man.
If you purchase the model including the woofer you get a descent sounding speaker. In EU it´s 99,99€ (incl.Tax, Germany). The missing Stereo feature (bluetooth and even "analog-by-switch") is a real stopper. I´ve thought purchasing frekvens multiple times to get a "crazy set-up"; but without that stereo option it´s not worth to think more about. Is there any other information available that disagrees with that?
Pretty much every bluetooth device I have makes the same sound. Everyone is using the same code it appears. Also, Teenage engineering is pretty great. Design between the two seemed like a no-brainer.
Good review! Fun fact: Frekvens means frequency in Swedish.
The fact that you can get a good idea of what it sounds like from pointing a mic at it and listening with good headphones is alarming. If this is fairly good compared to most bluetooth speakers, I don't think I'll be buying a bluetooth speaker any time soon.
2:00 That reminds me: The Singaporean IKEA stores don't seem to stock the ENEBY batteries, so they probably won't stock batteries for these either, although I believe the last time I checked was in November 2019.
8:28 I now believe that's the reason why a lot of Likebook e-reader models use the Rockchip RK3368, as they don't provide Android development targets for Android 7 and newer for that, only 5 and 6.
Is that FM-84’s “Atlas” album art as Colin’s desktop picture?
Let's hope they make a Andraby with more features!
That Bluetooth startup tone sounds exactly like my Marshall Mid ANC headphones!
If you are making a limited edition speaker it makes sense to use a discarded chip batch :) nice analysis!
Excellent Review .
I think this review is missing the point that this speaker, being a teenage-engineering design, is aimed to be a retro, minimalist party speaker. This means that mono signals are desired and extra buttons are undesired. Plus, who uses usb with a portable speaker nowadays tbh?
Regarding the muffled high frequencies tho, could not agree more. Having bought the sub too, I was absolutely impressed by the loudness and bass they deliver, but the treble is simply trash.
Not surprised to see them use some discontinued chip seeing this is a limited single run production item, they will simply order a quantity and that be it. So yeah if you can get a batch of chips no one else wanted to begin with and certainly not now as they aren't made anymore a product like this is ideal for it.
Ayyyyyyy Birocratic. I love Bob Ross goes to Hollywood
My AmazonBasics Bluetooth speaker also makes the same noises and has an AUX input jack. Seems like this is just a fancy case with off-the-shelf parts stuffed into it.
Great review. And teardown
Thanks for sharing👍😀
that oxidation on the solder... oof. Is it just a lead free solder thing or is that going to corrode and leave you with a dead electronic in 2 years?
Interesting analysis. A newish product line at a global scale. Tbh I feel adding buttons need for usb playback along with the port would make the product too busy. I mean just look at the back of the display model in the store with the sub attached. Also the only mono thing is anything for audio people but IKEA’s target market is a lot bigger than audio people. If they added a toggle or something most people would just intentionally or accidentally bump it to the left or right channel for the life of the product. And either not notice or think their speaker sounds bad or is broken.
This was excellent! Thank you for putting all this information together 👍
A) important to keep in mind that ikea has announced an entire smart-home division. It’s maturity is unknown, but “for all intents and purposes” they should be making this if they’re serious.
B) aside from the bass instinct of wanting more compatibility, which I also have, it’s a better product without the USB. I wouldn’t ding them for not including a feature (that I’ve only seen implemented poorly) while keeping what look like test traces.
The USB socket is easy enough to add. Does the main circuit bord offer the possibility to add the buttons to? Or do they need to be connected to the legs of that blue board?
There was supposed to be a turntable available too. Seems like it was cancelled?
I really like the look. Might put one in the kitchen for casual radio/podcast listening
Honestly haven't found a BT speaker to beat the HK Go & Play 2016 for $150 on discounts. It's amazing. Powerful bass like JBL, but with really good highs and mids, without muffled sound which JBL have to achieve heavy bass.
they could've just added a "L/mono/R" switch in the back and just pass through the stereo signal to line out so each speaker can just play the signal it needs. that's literally one switch they've saved there...
What if you DIY add in the missing USB socket and buttons❓ Does it can play "anything" from a USB drive❓
from other reviews...there is a teenager design web, you can dl accessories make in 3d printer
Can you try to solder a usb cable and some push buttons to test if the USB functionality does really work?
And now I am wondering if you put in a USB port and added the buttons would it actually work?
My Behringer speakers use the same startup sound. I think it is just a standard chinese Bluetooth chip.
I think honestly a smart speaker that has analog input and is just Bluetooth driven is better than the ones driven by internal operating systems and voice. Sonos speakers have a time limit of when they will stop working and being supported, and that’s likely the same for all of the smart speakers with that design philosophy. My HomePod has no inputs at all so if Apple decides to discontinue Siri or steaming support for it in the future I’ll have a 300 dollar brick
I mean no joke: this modular system and creative possibilities to stick these together and how insanely crazy they look afterwards habe me hooked!
I am seriously considering spending 300 bugs on sone ikea boxes although i got better ones, just to have these otherwordly E S T H E T I C S in my room :D
Great informative video mate
So well made videos... Thank you for sharing!!
The thing seems a little awkward in many ways. Like you mentioned it is mono which makes it awkward as a standalone speaker. The piece also makes it to expensive for a fun and cheap hack project. There is simply better Bluetooth speakers for less.
You could use hacked jack cables for stereo!
Mátyás G. Kajtár Amazon sell stereo to mono splitter cables. I have a pair of these Frekvens speakers that I wire up with one as stereo pc speakers.
@9:45 my interpretation of the numbers ... 7.55 is a reference code, 10 or 15 is a number for the wattage and 01/05 maybee revision date. it would have been nice if you had shown the speaker chassis to us.
Thanks for making this! Super interesting!
That power on counds a lot like old Bluetooth headsets by Plantronics I believe.
My Bose QC35 II headphones make the same exact sound when powering on... Does this mean that Eneby and Frekvens are the same as Bose QC35 II in a "different enclosure"? Nope, it just means that all of the 3 products are using the same BT circuitry or perhaps different models made by the same manufacturer...
I was worried I might have bought the Eneby too soon. Now I know it was the best choice. I assume it's easier to hear the difference in real life, but even through headphones there is a big difference between these two speakers. Gotta love the design, but then again the Eneby design isn't half bad either (I have it in black). Maybe I should paint the handle yellow? 🤪 We will see~
I really like the colorful design of this new speaker but the Eneby design isn’t too shabby either. I remember thinking I just *had* to have it when it first came out and after watching this video, I also feel that getting the Eneby was the right choice. Better sound and lower price
Besides Ikeas line of Bluetooth speakers, what is the best quality for your money? I have a Bose portable, and so far it's sound and portability haven't been beaten for me in 5 years. What would you recommend?
Nathan Surrett just skip this thing cause this limited collection are intended to just use as make a party at home
This bloke could design a time machine ....
I noticed the speaker's PCB silkscreen says "AUX-OUTR" under the output jack...is there any truth to that?
Please do a video on the tiny speaker
I have learned that nearly all Bluetooth modules have the ability to decode and play audio from a local USB flash drive using the d+ and d- pins.
Having spent like 5 grand on many bluetooth speakers, the only ones worth considering are the minirigs. Or if size is not a problem, the soundboxx. Any other choices are just irrelevant. :(
Which channel is played on the speaker? Left, right or both? If they only play one channel directly and have stereo on line out, it at least would be realistically possible to get stereo out of these.
Both channels get summed to mono.
I honestly think that long connecting piece should go through the loop on the strap
Nice and informative video. Thanks!
Non stereo function is a hudge dealbreaker imo.
But it is made by metamillenials so quality is not the case...
I know that power-on sound intimately, and it never fails to make me gag.
edit: so 'actions-semi' is behind most of the cheap, sh*tty bluetooth speakers? @ 5:33
edit 2: just looked up my minirig mini on the fcc's webpage. the absence of this annoyance appears to be from their use of texas instruments' PA3136D2