But a good surround sound setup thats so elegant that its practically stealthy and thats wife-approved too? Thats another story. And thats where Sonos newest and most innovative creation comes in.

Meet the IKEA Symfonisk , a partnership between IKEA and Sonos that yields an ultra-attractive little lamp that my wife actually likes. The secret: It also doubles as a potent speaker, either operating alone courtesy of Airplay 2 capabilities, or (and this is where things get fun for me) teaming up with the rest of your Sonos devices to deliver surround sound power.

Basically, its the marriage of excellent-sounding speaker and sharp bedroom aesthetic thats everything Ive always needed. Like all Sonos devices, it sounds great. Unlike many other surround sound speakers, it doesnt doesnt look out of place in our bedroom and it serves a simple, utilitarian purpose, too.

Sonos is in the business of sound first, and thats what grabbed my attention the most. The first time I heard the Symfonisk, I was in a showroom in Manhattan and I didnt realize it was a lamp. The sound was that pure.

This isnt a bassy speaker by any means, but its not meant to be. What it is is the kind of speaker that, on its own, brings out the subtleties in, say, Aloe Blaccs A King Is Born, and lets you appreciate Eminems Sing For A Moment. Its also Airplay 2 compliant, so pushing audio from my iPhone (or even an Android phone) to the Symfonisk is super-user-friendly.

Using Sonos iPhone app, you can swiftly and easily chain a pair of Symfonisk lamps together, a perfect combination for stereo music sound in just about any room. So I did that first, appreciating for a few days, the terrific bedroom music that that made possible.

I yearned for more. And heres the thing with the Symfonisks: They invite more too. If you have a Sonos Beam or Playbar (I have a Beam), you have the guts of what you need for an absolutely mindblowing surround sound that never looks like a surround sound. I paired the Beam with my two Symfonisk lamps (lets reiterate that again: Theyre lamps that sit on my bedstands), and a Sonos subwoofer. Presto: fully wireless, full 5.1 surround sound, with no wild mess of cables running all over our bedroom.

And with next to no hassle. Ive set up surround sounds before in two of our other rooms, and the entire process can take hours, especially if you do it right. Theres wiring to deal with, a lengthy process for the surround sound to analyze and calibrate to your rooms acoustics and plenty of little things that can go wrong.

No such troubles with the Symfonisk. I ran an HDMI cable from our bedroom Xbox to the Beam, paired the Symfonisks and the sub with the Beam in a matter of minutes, and I was almost ready. The final step: I walked around for a few minutes, waving my phone around the room, Sonos calibration process. Then I was all set.

This is when I discovered just how truly versatile the Symfonisks are. Theyre no longer doing the sound heavy lifting; instead, theyre working in concert with the Beam and Sonos excellent subwoofer to deliver magical home theater effects. Ive tried this with both movies (Avengers: Endgame sounds great) and video games (every explosion in Borderlands 3 comes to life), and both experiences are terrific.

The Symfonisks arent large speakers, but, teamed with the Beam, they sound great. Theyre terrific at delivering small surround sound details (think of rustling grass or the squeaks of a door). And once again, they do it without ever looking the part, a key bit of awesomeness compared to my other rooms and the garish-looking speakers my wife doesnt love.

In addition to all this, the Symfonisk pulls double-duty as a lamp. It has a solid design, feeling modern and never drawing too much attention. Before I teamed my two lamp-speakers up with my Beam, I tried them in a few other rooms as mere speakers; in both rooms, they fit right in.

If theres a shortcoming to the Symfonisk, its the quality of lighting. Its bright enough for accent lighting, mostly, so its best used as a bedroom complement, not as the main lighting source in there.

But we did need accent lighting in our room. And the sound is as good as it gets. And remember the most important part: Its wife-approved.