Introducing: Kallax-Fi

For less than full-width audio gear, IKEA's Kallax shelving system can serve as a hi-rack as well as a vinyl storage solution.
More info: www.ikea.com/KALLAX
Featuring (in order of appearance):
Schiit Jotunheim:
darko.audio/2017/03/schiits-j...
PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter:
darko.audio/2019/01/global-fe...
AURALIC Aries:
6moons.com/audioreviews2/aura...
Wyred 4 Sound Music Server:
darko.audio/2018/10/a-short-f...
Schiit Saga / Schiit Vidar:
darko.audio/2017/11/schiit-vi...
Bluesound Node 2:
darko.audio/2018/01/detour-ah...
Roon Nucleus:
darko.audio/2018/07/a-short-f...
Mytek Brooklyn Plus:
darko.audio/2018/02/myteks-br...
Mytek Brooklyn Amp:
darko.audio/2017/05/mytek-dig...
Chord Qutest:
darko.audio/2018/11/a-short-f...
Rupert Neve RNHP:
darko.audio/2018/05/arresting...
Wyred 4 Sound PH-1:
darko.audio/2018/03/orange-cr...
Darko.Audio is a web magazine covering new and exciting developments in the audio world. We aren’t afraid of indie rock or techno.
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[@ibassnote]

I do like your attitude. You strike an excellent balance between the high-end and the regular-folks audiofile dreams. Cheers.

[@stephenscharf6293]

Agreed. John's videos are great. No nonsense, no pretense, just practical and common-sense based sensibilites. Really refreshing for a change.

[@mihir1997]

I agree but wish he would also review more budget gear once in a while. I like his way of explaining what he hears XD

[@Rob5ft19in]

My entire AV rack is made from 14 Lack tables (and a lot of time / modding) - the beauty there is that it will find any standard width separate and heights can be adjusted to taste. IKEA Hacking is so useful for hi-fi / AV!!

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Any chance of viewing your AV rack somewhere on the web?

[@charliedavidson3878]

John, over the years I've been cutting back on the size of my system that you see . i thought that's where you were going with this ( my bad) . I like what you have done a smart approach to a messy rack system that's affordable to most audiophiles . great job

[@josevarela6352]

You seem to be a down to earth music and audio lover, with good hints for newcomers. The videos are well produced too, and very fresh and kind of modern. Thanks!

[@carolineleonard8214]

Epic idea. Nearly all of Cyrus Audio gear will fit easily. You may even get 2 units per shelf as they are 215mm wide and Kallax is just under 770mm wide. Keep on keeping on with your real world hifi. BTW I went for a sideboard with shelving and doors either side (so that all the untidiness is hidden.

[@cujim4527]

Hi John, another fun video. In addition to the Aries, the Auralic Polaris (just) fits. Also, the Weiss DAC 202, the Stax SRM-006/7, and obviously the Mac Mini that many of us use as a Roon Core.

[@iansharp1171]

Love your style! Glad to see the Rupert Neve headphone amp (Kallax-Fi, obviously). I'm just burning a new one in - staggering sound straight out of the box.

[@crestiferj2689]

first off, love your channel. you have a subscription. love your approach and your production quality..very impressive. i've been using the ikea expedit for 18 years now. expedit was the previous name of the kallax series. it was so affordable, and has actually held up to quite a few moves over the years. it's a great option for vinyl storage for sure.

[@resistro]

The best audiophile content creator. Your attitude is simply spectacular balancing dream products (the expensive ones) and the most peoples reality to deal with great but not impossible products

[@thomaskeithlutheir]

Cool - real world. Love it when we get the giggles. Pro-Ject audio units also worth a try.

[@dennisbuckley]

Now that my son has left home, I’ll be moving my office into what was his bedroom. We’ve had large Kallax units around the house over the years so I wondered if a 4x1 would be perfect for when my old hifi comes out of storage and into this bigger space. “Ah, but what about the sonic performance, blah, blah, blah?” Nagged that nagging voice in my head. Look, I said, it’s cheap, and the money I save could be better spent on more vinyl. And look, this geezer on KZbin has used it for his top end gear the likes of which I’ll never own. Perhaps a few isolation tricks in place and the Kallax will be perfect for what I need 👍

[@nasosal]

What I have done was to remove the middle vertical divider between two kallax-boxes on a 4x2 kallax shelf, to make room for my non-kallax-Fi equipment. My MD-player, CD-player and amplifier sit on top of each other inside the 2 kallax-boxes (made into one) and above them, on the top shelf, I have my turntable. I guess I was a bit lucky with the heights of the units because there is barely 2 or 3 cm of space between the amplifier and the top shelf, but hey, you can get lucky even with IKEA some times. :-D Nice video btw. Thanks for sharing.

[@RickHawes]

Thanks for putting a name on this form-factor. Let’s hope more manufactures make high-quality gear that can fit into our rooms. One more for your list... Benchmark Media Systems makes DACs, pre-amps and amplifiers that are about 250mm in width. Everything that I’ve bought from them is high quality and well engineered.

[@anthonyibude9546]

My entire 2 channel HiFi and small record collection sits in a kallax. Pro-ject debut carbon on top into Cambridge audio One (all-in-one amplifier), with bookshelf speakers on solid wood ikea stools either side. Kallax is a great way to make sure stereo equipment will be tidy and relatively unobtrusive.

[@skampster]

Chord TT2, Toby and an M Scaler, and your speaker of choice. Kallax heaven.

[@AdamJRichardson]

Similar to how the max width of a tanker/container ship that can go through the Panama Canal is called "Panamax" and is a standardized measurement, maybe Kallamax is the equivalent here? :-) Love your vids!

[@Mingchops]

Haha I did this in my office about 3 weeks ago, upgraded my setup housed all within a 4x4 Kallax. It's only a budget setup but sounds great for what it is; Yamaha A-670 amp, Yamaha WXAD-10 streamer, Dali Zensor 1 speakers. Originally I was going to use a Monitor Audio Airstream A100 amp (which just fits vertically) but the one I bought off eBay didn't work, typical eBay then!! I then considered an old Teac A-H300 amp, however couldn't stomach eBay again so the cheap Class D Yam it was - seems more than good enough and at least it works!

[@David-dj5kb]

Never thought of using a Kallax as a rack but great idea lol

[@davidryan6441]

Good Vid....I Still Have My Trusty Old Quad 33/303 amps, Along with The Fm3 tuner...All Fit inside The Kallax units ...Just have to make Sure The Heat Sinks on The 303 are Facing outwards...been Doing This For About 5 years now...Never had a Problem.

[@therealchickentender]

Been doing this for years! :) You can do more than you might think. I've had a Technics SL-7 linear-tracker sitting in one of these shelves for 6 years or so (it's quite perfect). Other similarly sized linears like the Technics SL-10 and Pioneer PL-X100 work just as well. I've heard you mention this "Kallax-Fi" on a couple newer vids and never came back to find out what you meant specifically. Funnily enough, I had no idea these were called Kallax (or more appropriately just forgot since purchasing) and I've been using Kallax for audio gear since around 2006 when I bought the first (now since departed) very large 5x5 unit. It was a brilliant moment when I discovered how perfectly LPs fit within them. A week or two after I set them up I disassembled the shelves in order to remove the vertical piece from slot "3" on each side of the unit, giving me a double space in the middle on either side of the 5x5. In those I housed a full-sized vintage Sony table on the right and an 70s Sansui quad receiver on the left (barely). Doing this you just need to not put anything particularly heavy (no vinyl storage) in the two spaces directly above and all will be well. I swapped many pieces of gear between those two spaces for years. LPs were stored on the lower portions. I've since parted with with the 5x5 but still have a 4x4 and 4x2 today, with that SL-7 sitting comfortably at the top of the 4x2 with most of my vinyl in that unit. Kallax-fi all the way. Well termed!

[@krzysztofgasiorowski3779]

The new Primare i15 and dd15 would be a great Kallax-Fi set. Also some Audio Note gear for a in nicely in the Kallax.

[@rshrikha23]

I agree with the lifestyle approach to Hi-Fi equipment. I have KEF LS50's sitting in Kallax's about 7 feet apart from each other in a mid-field setup. Sounds really good in my smallish apartment.

[@rshrikha23]

@@steven2809 Yep! I dont have the option of putting them on stands. Still sounds amazing, I can't tell any issues and since I'm close to the speakers I don't think it has much impact. When I get to a bigger apartment I'll let em out the cage to breathe a bit though haha

[@dainawilburn9710]

Yep, I've used Kallax (formerly called Expedite) for years. At one point I had a single wide, 5 tall unit that held everything, which was a Promitheus TVC preamp, Quad 909 (perfect fit), Benchmark DAC 1 Pre, with a vintage Sansui TU-717 sitting on top. In fact, I sold a massive 400 Wpc McIntosh MC-402 amp and replaced it with that Quad, which sounded every bit as good if not better. And looked so nice in the unit. I imagine the Benchmark amp would fit as well. I now have a vintage Dynaco Pas 3, which fits as long as you don't mind the face poking out a few mm. But I've replaced the Kallax with a very beautiful vintage dry bar with ratan doors to house my gear. Meanwhile the 5 high Kallax has been joined by two 2 wide x 4 tall Kallax units to house my 1200 or so LP's and 78's. Some small script gold transfer letters detail genre and alphabetical notation on the units. Mine are the dark brown grained ones. They are perfect. I now consider all my potential purchases by how they will fit into a Kallax or this dry bar (also small openings).

[@loubob73]

Great idea for a video. I have my gear on an IKEA Ivar shelf system. It’d be cool to see a bunch of gear set up in a kallax, with other, non audio, things in some of the other cubes. Plants, books, knick knacks, etc.

[@sidvicious3129]

The ps audio sprout is Kallax fi and emotive makes a mini 50 watt per channel amplifier that is kallax fi.

[@Mark-rn6rs]

Excellent video I would think pro-ject audio would have many pieces of gear that would be “Kallax Fi”

[@EdenAudio]

I use Kallax Fi, they store all my 80's singles, 12"'s and LP's, great furniture.

[@JonPickles]

Great idea for a vid John. Good to see you have Television Marquee Moon and the Kraftwerk box.

[@BrianGoodeBass]

My Technics SL-7 linear tracking turntable looks great in my Kallax. I've got mine sitting on an angled stand, so you can watch the record spin. Technics made lots of great turntables in this form factor.

[@richybeattie]

a late-comer to this, but my Marantz HD-CD1 & HD-DAC1 plus Apple Mac Mini running Roon all live in a Kallax. It's perfect and don't need anything else. Nice to hear I'm not alone in my choices

[@bcrebel86]

I have the Kallax 3X3 and to fit my vintage equipment I left out one of the vertical boards at the top. Leaves me seven cubes for vinyl with my turntable on top of the unit.

[@Plarticus]

My Nait 2 and Bifrost would fit great! a lot of vintage naim gear would be perfect

[@beetooex]

I put together a 'beginners' system for my sister to go in the Kallax she uses as a TV bench. Before this she was playing music through the TV speakers or Amazon echo. It was a tiny old Denon amp driving Q Acoustics bookshelf speakers. She refuses to put the speakers anywhere but inside the Kallax. They sound bloody awful. She has to have the bass all the way down on the tone control to (unsuccessfully) reduce the resulting muddy boomy mess. It sounded lovely when I was testing it at my house. Most expensive Xmas gift I ever bought her. Bit of a shame really.

[@Agobey]

Nice vid as usual - you can always remove one divider for a bigger shelf :) that's what i am planning to do to fit my amp and cd rack.

[@DarkoAudio]

Good tip!

[@Bula]

I like your train of thought..Not everyone can go balls deep with their setup, some of us have Mrs to answer to :)

[@DarkoAudio]

And some have themselves to answer to.

[@NawMan357]

Love the attitude!!!

[@MIX-llaneous]

Love that Television album man 😉

[@RhapsodyHifi]

Hi john, All Wattson Audio products are Kallax-fi compliant and they work pretty well with the Kii three ;-) Kind Regards Guy

[@joekelley6737]

It is too bad that receivers aren't Kallax-Fi, I think that there is a huge untapped market for a receiver that fits modern furniture. It would be easy to add standoffs to make such a receiver rack compatible and it would be easy to fit all the components in a cube rather than a short 17 inch wide box. Thanks for your videos, enjoying my new Kef Lsx speakers based off your review...

[@wellroundedsound2422]

Hi John - great video as always! Anything from Pro-Ject Box system would make perfect Kallax-Fi.

[@richardsaila8073]

The brilliant music server/renderer Antipodes CX + EX Duo is Kallax-Fi.

[@MrWkendwarrior]

Kallax or Expedit cabinets are already great vinyl, audio accessories, and media storage...not sure i would put on TT sitting on top of one, although would be fun to try. Sure, any gear that fits in a Kallax cubicle is efficient and great looking...but I am skeptical putting a tube or SS amp that generates a bit of heat w no vent holes or open back cabinet. For gear you used should be fine.

[@juliaset751]

Kallax is open back unless you buy an extra piece for the back. I only use mine for LP’s, so I don’t know about components. I suggest VTI audio shelves for components: a reasonable price and built well with welded frame. The shelves are crap MDF, but can be replaced with nice wood. I filled the columns with sand.

[@DavidRyan-li6fg]

Glad To Say i Still Have My Old (but Trusty ). Quad 33/303 Set Up...Ikea Do a Kallax Unit With a Couple of Wide Shelves Now Worth Checking Out.

[@srdjanmilojevic6780]

Hi John. Always appreciating your videos and reviews. Is that a Nagaoka I spy on the Technics SL-1200G? Which model?

[@greydog7225]

Those kallax units are useful, if you put the taller kallax on there side you have more top surface for hardware

[@ianwhite9149]

Heed Elixir, Rega Brio, Border Patrol DAC SE, Dynavector P75 MK IV, NAD D 3020 V2, D 3045, Acoustic Energy AE100, PSB Alpha 3, Q Acoustics 3020i, Quad S2...

[@reddog0925]

Naim Uniti Atom, NAD M10, as well as a number of products from Cyrus Audio would qualify as Kallax-Fi. A little lower down the "HiFi" ranking, but still qualifying as a good product for the "music-first" kallaxifier would be the Denon Ceol N10 and the new Sonos Amp. Impressive features for the money, and should provide decent sound as well, depending on accompanying gear. I'm currently running the old version of the Denon, an RCD-N7 which might be considered an early entry into the Future-Fi territory due to it's extensive features and all-in-one nature. It runs a set of KEF Q100's and an old Energy EPS-100 subwoofer for a great sounding TV system that will crank out some quality sounding tunes on the main floor of my home. The basement is reserved for the HiFi items that wouldn't fit into a Kallax unit!

[@zjzozn]

The hi-fi vlog of hi-fi 😁

[@dougg1075]

Looks good my brother, I think furniture is much better than racks. I bet those Kii ‘s are an end game speaker. Nice

[@edelweisskoenig]

Great idea. Even more fascinating, lately I had been looking for Hifi equipment with a smaller footprint (like Naim Uniti Atom, Cyrus One HD or the Innuos Zen Mini) without thinking of the IKEA Kallax. 😄 Yet you confuse me. Presenting a € 11.000 DAC and headphone amp, "ranting" about entry level vinyl record players and now a IKEA Kallax, because "not everyone can afford a decent Hifi rack"? 🤔 Nevermind, I like the mix. 👍

[@Tomas-Odebrant]

I guess that you know that Kallax is the name of the airport outside the city of Luleå in northern Sweden (at the same latitude as Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska). Though I live in southern Sweden (more than 1000 km south of Kallax), I have been there a couple of times. IKEA has really spread Swedish (and other Scandinavian) place names over the world, like in Deadpool: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6PWi2ylpsynhrs

[@areitz]

I think a lot of Bel Canto's gear, in particular the C5i, is narrow enough to fit in a Kallax.

[@nareshnarasimhan9774]

Inspired by John.I think this A- JAS (all in one just add speakers) category is probably going to bring in more music lovers

[@krzysztofs3t532]

Hey, I have excellent Kallax-Fi DAC in my system - ifi micro iDSD :D ...and it also stands on Ikea shelf, but not Kallax.

[@ianhill7965]

OK love the term. For the listt ATOLL HD RANGE QUAD VENA ZEN MINI OH and with a glass shelf from an old IKEA cabinet on top perfectly takes a Rega Planar 3. I am in fact fully Kallax-Fi

[@ctchrisf]

Best Subwoofer that fits in Kallax? maybe a tiny bit of room for some vibration dampening pad? under ~2000?

[@Rich.Newell]

Linn LK kit is a good fit into Kallax, which is great if you like classic gear.

[@allucinox]

SOtM sms-200 Neo, Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2, Meier Audio Corda Jazz ff ----> Kallax-Fi ready!

[@SolomonLi]

Well...in the entry level there is the PS Audio Sprout...

[@michaelgravlund9194]

thx John for the video. I agree with you on the visual stuff, but if we talk about the sound, I think you will loose some of the sound quality. Just like if you took some of your acoustic treatment away in the room. I have just experienced the sound difference between two racks. So in my case the sound changes when I replaced the old Audio Magic rack with a Quadraspire X Reference rack. ATB Michael

[@gzubeck3]

As an alternative to Ikea I use walmart better homes and garden quad cube organizers. Always easy to find in america so not sure about germany and europe in general.

[@shed185]

The Holton Precision Amplifiers range is all pretty kallax-fi

[@alfagtv533]

Well, my Nagra HD DAC + MPS is also Kallax-Fi, or in my case Expedit-Fi! :) Perhaps not the most obvious bed-fellows though?

[@suncity22001]

You have grown up on the same music as me , the the, thin white rope , I imagine you like talk talk too, , I keep seeing signs of the same musical journey, for the last 20 years I’ve been into Autechre and boards of canada. One band you definitely need to check out is The Necks. Please try the album ‘Mindset’ and also in particular the trk ‘Timepiece’ from the album ‘unfold’. Also best dub techno that you may have missed from label ‘echospace’ . Nice gear. My brother an I have been playing the hifi game for years it’s a blessing and a curse! Best wishes J

[@vjzapp]

The naim uniti atom will work!

[@clintonlyon4830]

Rega Apollo CD player and Brio amp

[@StephaneVorstellung]

Way to go. Yes, for god's sake---more quality gear should be of these kinds of dimensions. I can't stand the way audio racks recall exercise equipment (to me they do, anyway). Gear itself is finally looking a bit less like office equipment) all in all, thanks a lot. It's great to see someone take this to task....Rega Brio, Dayens, Elac, and the Vista Audio Spark are some more Kallax-Fi

[@MrSatyre1]

I enjoyed this video for the minimalist design approach, but the premise baffles me. 🤔 I don't mean to be obtuse, but ditching the hifi rack based on affordability (I understand that's not the ONLY reason), then filling up the Ikea with gear that costs well in excess of very affordable and very well designed and manufactured hifi racks (VTI is one that immediately pops into my head) seems rather...well... contradictory. On the plus side, you now have extra cash for more hifi gear! 😁

[@josemanosalva3808]

The Meridian Prime headphone amp (and power supply).

[@moenning13]

Pretty much all the stuff from Heed Audio. Why not take a look at the Elixir integrated amplifier that sports a really, really nice phonostage and a just as nice headphone amp?

[@overskou34]

Brilliant concept John. Would Kallax-fi, no matter how good performance, ever be considered real high end ? What do you think?

[@simonshurville612]

Nice !!!!

[@Michael-xz1nk]

All my Linn LK gear would easily fit. I have been into small components with big sound since the 1980’s. No land yacht components in my world.

[@iand8548]

Rowland preamp and most Amps should fit. I’m a Rowland fan.

[@michaelhametner9780]

Would you recommend putting any bookshelf speakers inside a rack like the Kallax? Love your videos man! Keep it up... Greets from Austria

[@DarkoAudio]

I've not tried it but I guess it would work with the pair of 4 X 1 Kallax that I have in each corner. Giving me pause is Kallax's rigid/light construction.

[@ionobelisk]

Neat Iota speakers would fit nicely. Try putting some Audio Serenity pads under them to cut resonances. They are extraordinary little speakers, I think the bass response may have been conjured by witchcraft.

[@michaelhametner9780]

​@@DarkoAudio a friend of mine uses the Ikea Nornas Sideboard for her vinyl setup. Tho her speakers wouldn't fit into the Sideboards compartments. I just wanted to know in general if you'd so something like putting the speakers into the furniture if it that'd sound terrible. Btw - whats the sideboard (with the two records on display) you're using. I like the looks of it. Thanks :-)

[@wellroundedsound2422]

It could work reasonably well if the speakers are on a smaller size, either sealed or front ported. Would place them on a specialized foam stands (Auralex www.auralex.com/product/mopad-mopad-xl/ ) and would line the back of the cavity with acoustical egg crate foam.

[@niki.7031]

Atoll has a midi sized hifi gear

[@TaswcmT]

What about the cabling? On the surface, this looks like one of those ads where there are no wires where there should be some. Holes drilled in the back plate?

[@JimyCalzone]

Kallax has no back plate, normally. I use Velcro strips and or cable ties for cable management on Kallax shelves.

[@tiffanyaa]

Kallax are open-back (but there are closed-back versions)

[@sulyluu]

I first thought of the Nad d3020 and D3045.

[@stephenscharf6293]

More Kallax gear: Schiit Bifrost Mulibit DAC, Schitt Valhalla 2 headphone amp, E.A.R 324 phono stage.

[@boomboss6000]

Is the Cambridge Audio Evo 150/75 Kallax compatible?

[@johndee759]

I think in Germany you can get a the kallax glass doors.

[@davidbolt8256]

Cyrus Audio hardware works well as Kallax-fi

[@lukao6114]

Kallax-Fi rules. have my 2x4 with turntable on top and some schiit under

[@floriandohrn]

I prefer the rio-regalsystem for a few reasons. It has less of a resonance material, it‘s way more elegant and configurable, it’s made in germany with fair salaries etc.

[@DarkoAudio]

What's Rio?

[@floriandohrn]

Google it. Rio-regalsystem. Really great stuff

[@engjoo]

Naim Uniti Atom is Kallax ready.

[@pblnlpalu]

If you put it vertical it fits!!!

[@shuckylad]

My unit holds towels, toilet rolls and my Bluetooth speaker next to my walk in shower.

[@johnlorraine4978]

Four years later and now I know what this video ist for 😂.

[@kennymchardy]

Naim Uniti Atom?

[@matoot]

Any speaker suggestions... Front ported would be great. Rob

[@matoot]

I found a few pairs of speakers that work well. KEF Q100, Wharfdale Diamond 220, NHT Super Ones, older Boston Acoustics sealed boxes. FYI I went with the Wharfedales, so far so good.

[@kaizer314]

Maybe the Naim Uniti Atom?

[@Drackleyrva]

I think Bel Canto e.One pieces would fit into the Kallax-Fi. :)

[@markucla]

Late to the party here. What speakers are those please. Edit: Nevermind. KII Threes

[@raynewcomb337]

Does the Auralic look bad sitting on the top of the Kallax?

[@DarkoAudio]

Only you can decide that. ;)

[@AntonTvHD]

Audiolabs M-Dac (1st version) Kallax-Fi

[@evowhite777]

Any Rega "half sized" units eg; Apollo r,Brio r etc. I see you've changed from the Planar 2 to a Technics 1200 thingy hmmm? Could be because I'm biased towards Rega but,you could've upgraded the Planar 2 or gone with a P3,P6 or even a RP8(if funds would've allowed!). I've had my Planar 2 derivative since 99" & have just made upgrades over the years & bought a Rega Ania Cartridge in(2018). I put the Ania on after demo of the P3 & P6 and realized I "wasn't" too far away from the P6 with my then upgrades so I just added the Ania(these carts DO take a minimum of "100" hours to break in though,mine took longer to my ears!) Good video,they always so stylish & modern!

[@kayaws3773]

PS Audio Sprout100, Denafrips Ares DAC, audio-gd R2R-11 dac/headphone amp, THX AAA 789 Headphone Amp

[@ionobelisk]

Musical Fidelity V or V90 units. You'd get dac, phono, headphone and linear PSU in one cube with room to spare.

[@ionobelisk]

Oh, and the V90 BLU amp too

[@happyforestgump1]

iFi xdsd is Kallax-Fi

[@astra004]

Yoh, an audiophile vibration damping vase on top of the phono converter!

[@DarkoAudio]

That one's for appearance only.