Ikea, which has never been intimidated to dive into new product categories, has announced projects to release a record player as part of its new Obegränsad collection this Fall.
The record player was created in collaboration with house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia and had a chunky design in line with a lot of the other consumer electronics Ikea has produced.
Alongside it, the Swedish retailer has also announced an armchair and desk as part of The technically isn’t the first record-playing device Ikea has announced. In 2018 it announced a turntable made in collaboration with Teenage Engineering that it hoped to release the following year. But according to a Teenage Engineering support page, the player never made it into the final collection.
Ikea engineer Carmen Stoicescu alludes to this previous attempt in an interview about the new record player on Ikea’s site. “When the question came to me, I just said, ‘We tried to do a record player before so that we could use the same supplier, maybe?'” she says. The writeup contains hints about the player’s functionality, like the fact that it has a built-in preamp, is powered over USB, and features a replaceable cartridge and needle.
In a press release, Ikea also notes that the player will work with its Eneby Bluetooth speaker, but because it doesn’t support Bluetooth, it’ll only work over a wired connection. Otherwise, technical details are slim. It’s not clear whether the record player has built-in speakers or whether it’s limited to wired output.
We’ve put these questions to Ikea along with questions about how much the device is expected to cost. It’ll be available this Fall along with over 20 other products that make up the Obegränsad collection.
New products from the IKEA and Swedish House Mafia partnership, OBEGRÄNSAD, were revealed at Milan Design Week. The latest items include an armchair, a desk for music producers, and a record player. The player will have multiple speaker connection options, plus a replaceable cartridge and needle.
IKEA has revealed new items in its OBEGRÄNSAD range, developed in collaboration with the Swedish House Mafia. The music-related products, unveiled at Milan Design Week, include an armchair, a record player, and a desk tailored for music production. The desk features two raised speaker stands at the rear, which IKEA says are designed to “bring the speakers to the ear level.”
Beneath the desktop is a pull-out shelf that you could use to store a midi keyboard. The armchair is designed to help you unwind as you listen to music and comes with adjustable straps. Unfortunately, little information has been revealed about the record player, which has a chunky yet minimal design.
IKEA has confirmed that you can connect the player to the brand’s ENEBY Bluetooth speaker, standard wired speakers, or more advanced systems via an adapter. In addition, the company claims the more affordable record player will have a replaceable cartridge and needle from a well-known brand.
The partnership was struck in September 2021, with the first products, a series of IKEA FRAKTA bags, including a laptop bag and a vinyl carrier, revealed last month. The 20-piece OBEGRÄNSAD collection will launch globally this Fall, with the product’s prices yet to be announced. IKEA said the range aimed to democratize music production at home and enable the many to unleash their passions and creativity.