IKEA Kallsup Review: 149 Uses for Multi-Speaker Audio 🔥
IKEA Kallsup review: test 149 IKEA Kallsup speakers for Bluetooth speaker chaining, multi-speaker audio, volume, fidelity, setup, cost—see the limits!
IKEA Kallsup Speakers: What 149 Can Actually Do
What Happens When You Link 149 IKEA Kallsup Speakers?
A $10 Bluetooth speaker has a simple job: play music without forcing you to think too hard about the sound system. IKEA's Kallsup adds a twist, though - multiple units can be chained together so they play the same audio. IKEA said you can connect up to 100, and when WIRED asked about what it takes to go beyond that, the company suggested 150 might work.
That's how a small speaker became a big question: how far can a low-cost wireless setup scale before the connection gets flaky, the sound falls apart, or the whole thing just stops being practical?
WIRED tested it in the London office by stacking 150 Kallsup speakers. One arrived damaged, so the team ended up with 149 working units. They connected successfully and got a setup that was both easy to assemble and extremely loud at full volume. Loud, yes - but not automatically better. The speaker wall didn't have the clarity or depth you'd expect from a dedicated party speaker, and the whole experiment cost $1,490.
It's still a useful demonstration, not just a stunt. Here's what happened, what the chaining can and can't do, and what you should think about before buying even one Kallsup - or trying to build your own wall.
What does linking 149 Kallsup speakers involve?
The setup is straightforward. Pair one Kallsup with a phone, tablet, or other music device over Bluetooth. Once it's playing, turn on another speaker and hold its Play button until you hear a chime that confirms it's in multi-speaker mode. At that point, it should join the existing playback. Repeat for each additional unit.
For the test, an iPhone 16 Pro supplied the audio. The team linked the speakers while music was already playing, so any speaker that failed to join would be obvious right away. The whole process took about 30 minutes. In other words: you don't need a special app, a hub, or an overly complex setup routine to chain a lot of these.
What the test says about the connection
All 149 working speakers joined the chain. For the most part, adding speakers stayed easy - but once the group went past 100, it became less reliable. Some units wouldn't connect on the first try, and the team found that none took more than two attempts.
That sounds like a small distinction, but it matters. "It connected" and "it connected reliably on the first try" are different standards. If you're doing a one-off demo, retrying is a minor hassle. If you're planning to use the speakers regularly, those extra steps can get annoying fast. The test suggests chaining can go beyond IKEA's 100-speaker claim, but it also suggests the margin for a smooth setup shrinks as you add more units.
One of the 150 speakers failed before the test even started. It lit up, but it rattled and wouldn't play. IKEA pointed to shipping damage, not a problem with chaining. So this is still a successful demonstration with 149 working units - not proof that every big batch will behave the same way.
What "linked" does - and does not - mean
In a linked group, the speakers play the same source. That's not the same as a stereo setup where left and right channels are intentionally separated, or a surround system where speakers are arranged to serve different roles. And it doesn't mean each small driver starts behaving like a bigger, more capable speaker.
What you really get is simpler: one Bluetooth-connected device feeds a growing group of compatible speakers. That can be useful for background music across a room or space. But if you care about stereo imaging, careful listening, or a real home-cinema setup, this test doesn't show that the Kallsup chain can deliver that kind of performance. The feature is about distributing the same audio to many units, not solving every audio-reproduction problem.
How good does a wall of $10 speakers sound?
The Kallsup is a small, low-cost speaker: one 1.8-inch full-range driver and a 3-watt amplifier. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 and doesn't have a separate woofer or tweeter. On its own, it's fine for casual use - but it isn't built for deep bass or detailed, high-volume listening.
That's a fair baseline. At this price, it can make sense on a desk, beside a bed, or in a suitcase. The trade-off is predictable: you get a compact, inexpensive design at the expense of bass extension, headroom, and refinement. A single Kallsup isn't trying to compete with a larger, more expensive Bluetooth speaker on those terms.
Why adding speakers changes the experience
At moderate background levels, the group sounded more substantial than a single unit. The change was gradual. As more speakers joined, the sound got bigger without one tiny speaker taking over the room. The test also worked well with acoustic tracks. Instead of relying on one small driver to move air, you effectively add many small drivers at once.
The experiment used 149 speakers, each with a 1.8-inch driver. Their combined cone area was described as roughly equivalent to one 22-inch driver. Each speaker also has a rated 3-watt amplifier output, which totals 447 watts across the full group.
Those numbers help explain why the setup could get loud - but they don't automatically translate into "better sound." Summed wattage isn't a clean measure of sound quality, and 149 small drivers don't act like a conventional 447-watt loudspeaker. Driver design, enclosure behavior, signal processing, and how everything interacts all affect what you actually hear. The comparisons explain the volume, but they don't promise deep bass or clean, detailed audio.
Why a bigger group does not automatically sound better
At realistic listening levels, the wall held up surprisingly well as a collective. At maximum volume, though, the weak points showed up. The sound became extremely loud, but the fidelity dropped. WIRED described the result as closer to a fire alarm than to the composed sound of a hi-fi system.
The group also lacked the depth and fine detail you'd expect from a dedicated party speaker. Small timing differences between units may have contributed, but the test didn't pin down a specific technical cause. The takeaway is simple: more sources can increase scale without necessarily improving coherence.
This shows up in a lot of product comparisons. It's easy to count drivers, watts, or connected devices. It's harder to judge whether the system reproduces music in a way that sounds convincing.
How loud can 149 IKEA Kallsup speakers get?
It gets very loud - loud enough that people in the room couldn't talk to each other and loud enough to feel physically. The team checked the group at 100 speakers first, then kept building to 149. At maximum volume, they played Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra and found the result overwhelming.
This isn't an endorsement to run the wall flat-out. It's just evidence that a lot of low-powered speakers can combine into a substantial output. The difference is practical: "capable of high volume" doesn't automatically mean "comfortable," "safe," or "musically useful." In this case, pushing the wall to its limit made the sound less composed, not more impressive as a listening experience.
The 447-watt figure in context
The math is easy: 149 speakers times 3 watts each equals 447 watts of rated output. But published power ratings don't tell you exactly what a room will sound like. Placement, distance, the incoming audio signal, and how each unit behaves all matter.
It also isn't a fair one-to-one comparison with a single speaker rated at 447 watts. The Kallsups are separate small units, each with its own driver and amplifier. The test showed an unusually loud result, but it also showed that the system doesn't deliver the bass or clarity you'd expect from a purpose-built speaker with larger drivers and digital signal processing.
Does a wall of speakers need special placement?
In this test, the team arranged the speakers carefully, creating a literal wall. The stack stayed upright as volume increased, even though vibration might have been a real concern. That's reassuring for the experiment, but it shouldn't be treated as a general rule for stacking speakers at home.
The reviewer would have liked indentations on the tops of the Kallsups to make stacking feel more stable. It's a small design detail, but it has a real purpose: when a product invites you to place one unit on another, stable positioning matters. Two speakers stacked is less risky than a wall of 149, but the basic concern still applies to any arrangement where vibration - or a bump from a passerby - could knock units loose.
If you're using multiple speakers, treat placement as part of the setup, not an afterthought. Keep the arrangement stable, avoid stacking a tall tower where people will bump it, and don't assume "more units" also means "more vertical." The test proved the wall could stand during this particular setup - it didn't establish an ideal configuration for every room.
Is speaker chaining useful beyond the stunt?
For most people, buying 149 Kallsups isn't a sensible way to build a high-quality audio system. At $10 each, the wall cost $1,490, before you count the time and space needed to set it up. One $10 unit can be a useful, low-cost speaker. A large chain makes more sense as an experiment than as a replacement for a well-designed party speaker.
In the test, the trade-off was clear. WIRED played the Kallsup wall alongside the $500 LG Xboom Stage 501, a dedicated party speaker with two 5.25-inch woofers, two 2.5-inch full-range drivers, and digital signal processing. At high volume, both systems got similarly uncomfortable. The LG, however, delivered fuller, deeper bass and a more musical overall sound.
That's the core difference: the Kallsup wall demonstrated scale and loudness, while the LG was built to make the music come through in a more complete way. You can match someone on one visible metric without matching them overall.
When the Kallsup makes sense
Chaining could be worth it if you want inexpensive, simple speakers for casual listening and you like the option to make several play together. The test supports the idea that the setup is easy to understand and can work beyond 100 units, even if reliability drops and the "first attempt" connections get less consistent.
If you're thinking about buying just one, the choice is easier. Decide where you'll use it and whether its limited sound fits that job. If you need a portable background speaker and you want to keep spending low, the Kallsup's limits may be acceptable. If you care about bass, clarity at higher volumes, or a more immersive sound, you'll get more value by buying a better-designed speaker instead of trying to "buy sound" through quantity.
A practical decision checklist
If you're considering a larger chained setup, ask yourself:
- Do you need coverage or sound quality? Chaining spreads the same audio across multiple units. It won't turn small speakers into a hi-fi system.
- What volume will you actually use? The test sounded most convincing at moderate levels. Maximum volume is loud but tiring and less clear.
- Will you use the feature often? If you plan to regularly add or remove units, the simple pairing process matters. A one-time stunt is a different story.
- What does the whole system cost? Many budget speakers can quickly outprice a purpose-built model with better bass and processing.
- Can you place them securely? A stack may look fun, but stability and room layout are real constraints.
The strongest conclusion from the test isn't "everyone should wall their living room with Kallsups." It's that IKEA built a low-cost speaker with a multi-speaker feature that actually works at a scale few people would ever need. That's an impressive result for engineering and usability - but it doesn't change the basic economics of audio. If sound quality is what you want, you still need a speaker designed for it.
Conclusion
WIRED's Kallsup test answered the weird question behind the multi-speaker feature: 149 working units could be connected and played together, with only minor retries once the group went past 100. It was fast to build, surprisingly capable at moderate levels, and brutally loud when pushed to maximum.
It also showed the limit of the spectacle. Adding more speakers increases scale and volume, but it doesn't magically create the depth or clarity of a dedicated audio system. For $10, one Kallsup is an easy product to understand: a compact, straightforward speaker with approachable sound. A wall of them is a different decision - one most people don't actually need to make. Choose based on the listening experience you want, not on how many drivers you can stack.