If you are looking for a home audio solution today, SONOS will be one name you come across. The American based home audio solution has proven to be one of the most popular home audio brands today with innovative and high-quality products in their stables. They also make some of the best and minimalist looking speakers in the market currently.
IKEA should not be a name that is new to anyone too at this point. They made flat-packed furniture a thing. They are also currently the largest furniture retailer and manufacturer in the world. Every home in Malaysia will haven IKEA product no matter how small. I know my house has a few IKEA stuff. Heck, our office is filled with IKEA furniture.
The partnership between IKEA and SONOS is nothing new too though. IKEA and SONOS produced their first collaboration product, the SONOS Symfonisk Bookshelf WiFi speakers back in 2019. The only issue is that we do not get a lot of IKEA x whatever brand collaboration products in Malaysia.
SONOS and IKEA is back in collaboration to update their Symfonisk WiFi Speaker. This time though, it is not just a WiFi wirelss speaker. This time, the Symfonisk for 2021 is a table lamp too combined with an Apple HomePod lookalike speaker unit. The new Symfonisk speakers are not available in Malaysia at this time. If you have family members or friends in Singapore though, they can order it at SG$ 299 per piece and in either white or black colour options.
Apparently though this is not the only thing they have in their collaboration product pipeline. They are also making an art piece together that is supposed to double as an art piece you can hang on your home walls, or office walls for that matter. This is not the first art piece speaker per say, but of course IKEA will make it more affordable and more flat-pack friendly than anything that came before.
Those are also the only details anyone cares to share on their current collaboration products. Of course, if you already have SONOS products at home, you can pair them to the Symfonisk speakers for surround sound purposes or as connected speakers throughout the home. There are also no details yet on whether the Symfonisk speakers will ever make it to Malaysia. With SONOS making a big push in the region, here is hoping that IKEA Malaysia starts bringing in the SONOS x IKEA Symfonisk products.
SONOS is one of the most recognisable audio brands in the world currently. Considering that they launched this first speaker product in 2005, they are not exactly one of the most history-rich brands in the audio world. They do have a specialisation though, that is home audio systems. In other words, they do smart speakers, and they do it well.
Today they launched their smallest speaker set-up available from their line-up. Today they launched the SONOS Roam.
The SONOS Roam is quite a unique product from SONOS. To be fair, it is not the first time that SONOS launched a portable wireless speaker. They launched the Move back in 2019. This is the first time though that the SONOS speaker was truly portable in the sense that it can actually fit in your backpack with no fuss. You can carry other things besides the speaker as well in your backpack.
The SONOS Roam is a unique product though. It is, if I am not wrong, the first SONOS product that could tune itself to any environment via its own mic. They call the feature TruePlay, which is not necessarily a new technology. On the SONOS Roam though, TruePlay is constantly adjusting itself especially when you introduce it to a new environment. You just need to have SONOS S2 app to get it to work. So, it is clever.
Source: SONOS
It is also SONOS’ first speaker to feature wireless charging. It is Qi compatible as well, so you do not technically need to charge it via SONOS’ own wireless charger. You can buy the magnetic Qi wireless charger separately though for MYR 239 (US$ 49*). If not, you can charge it via a USB Type-C cable. A single charge lasts up to 10 hours according to SONOS.
Like any other SONOS speakers, the Roam features both WiFi connectivity and all-important Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The clever part about the SONOS Roam is that it switches seamlessly between WiFi and Bluetooth connection with your smartphone depending on WiFi availability. The only issue with that is pairing with other SONOS speakers can only occur over WiFi. Then again, speaker pairing over WiFi is a lot more stable than over Bluetooth.
The SONOS Roam is also a water-resistant speaker, which also means that you can bring it absolutely anywhere, rain or shine. You can take it to a pool party for example and you should be okay with normal splashes or even a dunk in the water with IP67 rating. IP67 dust resistance also means that you can take it to a beach party and not worry about messing up the speaker with sand.
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
Source: SONOS
The SONOS Roam portable speaker will be available in Malaysia 21st April onward. You can head to any SONOS authorised retailers in Malaysia to get the SONOS Roam speaker. It will set you back MYR 1,099 (US$ 169) at launch. You can choose between either Lunar White or Shadow Black colour options. For more information on the SONOS Roam, you can head to their website.
When we say ‘Premium’ today it is a little different from before. ‘Premium’ products have been flooding the market at prices that are not ridiculous. Some might even say that ‘Premium’ is affordable these days. This is also largely thanks to the higher disposable incomes from this generation, and the increasing number of middle-class income households. The combination of both fuels the increasing demands of these affordable premium products.
Sony has announced that SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 premium wireless speakers to fill that ‘Premium’ space. Both new wireless speakers come packing with Sony’s unique spatial sound technology alongside other smart features and technologies Sony employs to make their speakers sound like no other.
New Premium Speakers, New Premium Features
Source: Sony
The SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers features a unique ambient room-filling sound experience. They call it spatial sound, and it is a unique feature to Sony speakers. It works pretty much like Sony’s 360 Reality Audio technology. In fact, the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 works best with 360 Reality Audio contents. Time to prepare your credit cards for a Tidal subscription people.
While most conventional speakers spread audio waves horizontally, the new wireless speakers fill the room with vertical and horizontal signals to really create a roomy aural experience. Of course, Sony has their own Immersive Audio Enhancement technology within the speakers to transform regular 2-channel stereo tracks into something truly breath-taking. Maybe you do not need to cancel your Spotify subscription after all in that case.
Source: Sony
Every room is different though. Sony knows this. That is why the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 features automatic sound calibration tools to optimise itself in whatever room you may leave it in the house. Simply hold the Immersive Audio Enhancement button on the SRS-RA5000 for a quick calibration of your room. Kind of like how your Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones adjusts to your ears to give you even better experiences.
The SRS-RA3000 is made to be even more portable though. It auto calibrates itself in any room when you turn it on and play your favourite tracks. Every single time you move it to a new room or a different room in your house, or even hotel rooms, the SRS-RA3000 auto-calibrates itself to suit its containing room. Both speakers are also clever speakers that adjusts its own volume so that you have a consistent listening experience without having to adjust your volume at every track.
SRS-RA5000 vs SRS-RA3000 – Which Should You Get?
Source: Sony
The Hi-Res Audio certified SRS-RA5000 is set up with a trio of vertical-firing speakers and 3 middle sited speakers for an even and well spread out vertical and horizontal audio distribution. High-magnetism neodymium magnets and mica reinforced cellular diaphragm keeps it compact to ensure that it tucks in any room seamlessly and unobtrusively. The neodymium and mica constructions also allow the SRS-RA5000 to produce clean, crisp, clear, and powerful audio to the room while remaining subtle in the room.
On the other hand, RA3000 offers a unique omnidirectional sound that you can take with you anywhere in your house. Technically because it is more compact as well, it can travel with you. Thanks to its humidity resistant construction, you can put it anywhere within the confines of your house without worrying that it will break due to water damage. Of course, refrain from dumping it into the water, it is not water resistant. It is built-in with an omni-diffuser that allows the deep audio to travel upward too, allowing the compact premium speakers to fill an entire room, in any room at your house.
Function and Set up
Source: Sony
Both speakers can connect to devices with Bluetooth and stream over Wi-Fi, but RA5000 has an additional connectivity option which is one-touch NFC ™. The SRS-RA5000 and SES-RA3000 can also be connected to your Spotify and Chromecast for convenience and flexibility in real life. Moreover, users can control music played on the speaker via voice command. Also, it comes with multi-room features with Google Home/Assistant or Amazon Alexa compatibility. Besides, users may connect the Bluetooth speaker with their television to enhance audio experience. Of course, you can control the Sony SRS-RA5000 and SRS-3000 speakers via the Sony Music app available for free on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Price and Availability
The Sony SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 will be available in Malaysia February 2021 onward. There are no price announcements just yet, Sony promises for the prices to be revealed closer to launch date. For more information you can visit Sony’s website.
