Sound quality: Ikea's Symfonisk Picture Frame (404.873.20) had Good overall sound quality. Bass has decent impact, but is slightly boomy and deepest bass is lacking. Midrange is a touch thin, plasticky and etched, and a bit hazy and grainy. Treble is fairly extended, but is slightly subdued, smeared, and dry. Does a decent job of recovering room ambience in the upper midrange, but otherwise the overall sound is a bit dry and congested. The speaker is monophonic. There was no significant difference in sound quality between vertical and horizontal orientation. When combined with a second unit to form a stereo pair they provide stereo separation, the midrange becomes fairly even and loses the etched quality, and the room recovery becomes decent throughout the entire frequency range but gets a bit echoey instead of dry, and overall scores improves in the Very Good range. Provides a decent volume level in a medium sized room.
Ease of use: We found the Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame (404.873.20) ease of use to be good overall. WiFi setup: Is Good. (Wi-Fi is the only source available to the unit; No Bluetooth or Aux inputs.) Follow quick setup guide to connect the unit and install app on mobile device then follow app instructions. May or may not require exiting app to select Wi-Fi network and return to app to continue setup. DLNA Setup - makes no reference on how to set up the DLNA server on the network, however, instructions can be found on Sonos website. The volume controls on the unit are not obvious due to position, and use low contrast labelling, it has no index markings, but have an audible indication when max volume is reached. Volume + button curves outward and volume - button curves inward, which makes it easier to tell which button is being pressed since controls are on the back of unit. Smart phone app volume control tracks with unit physical control. Unit may not always be in reach, so app remote is useful with this model. Mute control: Wi-Fi home model with no mute control on unit but does have a multifunction play/pause button that has low contrast labeling and is located on the back of the unit. Other than a flash when first pressed does not indicate whether play or pause is engaged on the unit (does show in smart phone app though). Smartphone app is very good overall.
