Boom cube: Trying out Ikea's Kallsup

Ikea announced the small Kallsup Bluetooth speaker at CES in January for around 10 euros. Since the beginning of March, the devices have been available earlier than initially planned. For a flat 5 euros, interested parties can get the “boom cube” (the small cuboid shape practically demands the term), which we have now done.

It weighs 185 grams and is rather inconspicuous with its 7 cm edge length. An enclosed manual shows pictograms for operating instructions, which can, however, appear cryptic. The complete manual (PDF) provides the specific operating instructions. Kallsup can be turned on and off by a short click, less than 1.5 seconds, on the button with the Bluetooth symbol. The button also serves to pair devices and must be held down until the LED flashes white. The Play button starts playback or pauses it. Pressing it twice skips to the next track, while pressing it three times goes back. After 20 minutes without connection to a power source and without music playback, the device switches off. At 50 percent volume, the battery life is nine hours, according to Ikea.

Kallsup is a playful Bluetooth speaker. Ikea has incorporated unusual sounds for starting up and shutting down, such as singing, which makes the device more likable. Plugging in the USB-C charging cable is sweetened by a relieved sigh “Haaaaach” from Kallsup.

Kallsup: No sound miracle

Kallsup is by no means a sound miracle in its small housing. It reproduces music with a focus on the mids and delivers a certain fullness, even in the lows. However, it is not real bass; kick drums, for example, remain rather flat and thin. Compared to the speakers of a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S24, however, the volume and the low-frequency range are significantly more present.

The Kallsup speakers are at least on par with simple, inexpensive Bluetooth speakers from POS displays in discounters or hardware stores. More volume can be achieved by pairing additional speakers. Ikea explicitly states in the technical information on the product web page that this doesn’t enable TWS operation (True Wireless Stereo); it thus remains mono output and simple forwarding to multiple devices – however, we did not test this due to the lack of additional Kallsups.

For on the go or when things might get a bit rougher, Kallsup is a perfectly usable Bluetooth speaker – due to the price, a potential loss causes no pain. In white, the device impresses with its unobtrusive simplicity. Hi-fi enthusiasts or bass lovers, however, will not be happy with it.

(dmk)