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<\/a><\/p>\n$10<\/p>\n
The GoodCuteCheapSurprising sound for $10The BadMultiple speakers need to be re-paired each timeNo smart features<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t have high expectations of a $10 speaker, but even a single Kallsup is surprisingly decent. At moderate volumes, the speaker works well for background music or to listen to a podcast or audiobook. While at my desk, I preferred it to the thin-sounding built-in speakers on my M4 MacBook Air.<\/p>\n
The Kallsup\u2019s driver isn\u2019t very big, so there\u2019s not a lot of bass response, but it\u2019s more than my laptop speakers can muster. As would be expected from a single, small driver, most of the frequency focus is on the midrange, so vocals are and speaking voices are highlighted the most \u2014 which is what makes the Kallsup good for audiobooks and podcasts. At max volume, there\u2019s some slight distortion with tracks that have a lot of high-end frequencies, but when listening at close range at my desk, I never felt the need to blast the tiny speaker.<\/p>\n
A USB-C charging port, two buttons, and a small LED is all that\u2019s on the Kallsup.<\/p>\n When these speakers were first announced at CES, what caught The Verge staff\u2019s attention<\/a> most was the ability to connect up to 100 of them. Daisy-chaining them is easy and is a great way to spread out the sound and increase overall volume. With the 20 I had on hand, while measuring with a decibel (dB) meter from a few inches away, a pink noise test signal increased from 86 dB with one speaker and up to 94 dB with all of them together \u2014 which is nearly twice the perceived volume. So spreading them around a room will give you some extra volume, but they\u2019re still mono speakers and there\u2019s no way to connect two as a stereo pair.<\/p>\n When putting $200 worth of Kallsup speakers up against comparatively priced Bluetooth options \u2014 the $269 Bose SoundLink Plus<\/a>, $189 Amazon Echo Studio<\/a>, and $179 Sonos Roam 2<\/a> \u2014 the Ikea array sounded okay, but the other three all had better response across the frequency range. The Echo Studio was my favorite because of how the low end balances against the mids and highs, but it also needs to be plugged in and doesn\u2019t have the portability of the others. The Bose gets far louder than them all, even when all 20 Kallsups play together, and the Roam 2\u2019s sound is more balanced (and the speaker more portable) than 20 Kallsups. All three of the more expensive speakers also offer far more features: the Bose and Sonos are IP67 dust- and water-resistant (the Kallsup are not IP rated), the Roam 2 works in the Sonos ecosystem, and the Echo Studio can order your groceries. The Kallsup is a very simple Bluetooth speaker, and 20 of them are 20 very simple Bluetooth speakers.<\/p>\n The Kallsup\u2019s sound might not hold up to competitors, but it\u2019s also the price of a fancy Starbucks drink.<\/p>\n Stacking up a bunch of the speakers, or spreading them around, increases their volume and area coverage, but it can be time-consuming. Turning on and pairing a single speaker takes 10 to 20 seconds, but when you multiply that by 20 speakers, it turns into minutes. And that connection isn\u2019t maintained once the speakers power down, so you\u2019ll need to go through the process again the next time you want to use all of them. And then there\u2019s finding 20 unused USB-C charging ports when they run out of battery after nine hours. The Kallsup also makes a rather disconcerting \u201caahhhh\u201d sound when you plug it in to charge that I could do without, especially in chorus.<\/p>\n Still, when using just one or a handful of them, the Kallsups are a fun, colorful, and cute way to add sound to your space. I could see putting a few around a kid\u2019s room \u2014 my 10-year old liked their look when I set them up for photos \u2014 or just adding a pop of color to your desk. And for $10, the Kallsups more than live up to their price.<\/p>\n Photography by John Higgins \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.John HigginsClose John Higgins<\/p>\n Senior Reviewer, TVs & Audio<\/p>\n Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by John Higgins<\/a><\/p>\n IkeaClose<\/p>\n Ikea<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Ikea<\/a><\/p>\n ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n Smart HomeClose<\/p>\n Smart Home<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Smart Home<\/a><\/p>\n Speaker ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Speaker Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/268436_IKEA_Kallsup_speaker_JHiggins_0003.jpg\"\/)
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