IKEA LÅNESPELARE Headphone Stand Review – Wooden Heart
The $20 LÅNESPELARE is an appealing, average built, fairly priced headphone stand that does well what it is designed for.
PROS
- Great design
- Cable wrapper in the back
- Comes fully assembled
- Affordable
CONS
- Not the best fit for wide headbands
- Not the best finish
IKEA has been known for their practical, appealing, and affordable designs outside of Sweden since the 1980s. Their signature is light-coloured woods that characterize Scandinavian furniture designs. Most IKEA’s models come and go, and some of their vintage stuff is sold at exorbitant prices. But others have been standard staples. One of their evergreens is the Poäng chair, in the IKEA catalogue since 1976. You probably own one.
The LÅNESPELARE (Swedish for “loan player”) stands for a series of IKEA products, the most interesting of which is this headphone stand (for me). Recently introduced, it was designed by Jon Karlsson. Don’t we all know him?
The LÅNESPELARE’s curved shape is reminiscent of the Poäng chair – with some fantasy. The frame is made of birch and ash veneer finished with tinted clear acrylic lacquer. The hanger is made of powder-coated aluminum, and the counterweight in the base of powder-coated steel (which IKEA metal part is NOT powder coated). The base is covered with 4 silicon rubber feet.
Sensation: the LÅNESPELARE comes fully assembled. No Allan key needed.
The stand is tall enough to hold the biggest headphones. The hanger protrudes at the front and back: the cans go on the front, and you can wrap the cable around the back – a long-standing problem solved. Very useful. However, the hanger only protrudes 4 cm out to the front: cans with wide headbands may not fit (well).
The LÅNESPELARE’s veneer quality does not break any world record: it feels somewhat cheap. And the lacquer is a bit thin for my gusto. But I really like the design.
Tip: If you run around an IKEA store and cannot find it, even on their computer: it goes under “headset stand”, and it is buried somewhere in the “Workspace” section on their main floor (and not in their “Marketplace” dungeon. It took me a while to dig one out.
Specifications IKEA LÅNESPELARE Headphone Stand
| Frame: Birch veneer, Ash veneer, tinted clear acrylic lacquer Hanger: Aluminum, Powder coating Balancing Weight: Steel, Powder coating Feet: Silicone rubber Height: 28 cm (11 “) Width: 13 cm (5 “) Length: 13 cm (5 “) Price: $19.99 USD, $24.99 CAD, 19.99 € Product Page: www.ikea.com |
Let’s have a good look at the LÅNESPELARE:
Concluding Remarks
The IKEA LÅNESPELARE is an appealing, sturdy headphone stand that is cheaper than the usual wooden fare on amazon. Its biggest assets are its refreshingly new design including the cable wrapper.
The LÅNESPELARE is, however, not of quite as high a quality in terms of both wood and finish compared to its more expensive competition.
You get what you pay for.
Until next time…keep on listening!
