Dual subs for desktop with iLoud MTM

[staticV3]

Any advice on what to get in the same price range as the MTMs? The should be able to go linear at least down to 80 Hz and be fit for near/ultra near field. So maybe something coaxial. They should in general be quite linear so I can EQ them to fit my preferred curve.

Take a look at this website:

https://www.spinorama.org/scores.ht...e&priceMax=450&shape=bookshelves&quality=high

I've entered appropriate filter settings, but feel free to customize them to your liking

The list is sorted by highest preference score with a sub.
You can click on the arrow symbol next to Tone to sort the speakers by their standalone preference score.

You could buy the Genelec 8010A:

Genelec 8010A Powered Studio Monitor Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Genelec 8010A Powered Studio Monitor (speaker). It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me for testing. It costs US $350 each for $700 for a pair. I don't know that the scale comes across in this picture but the 8010A is tiny...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Berwhale]

Ok, so I finally got two new MTMs to replace the dead one and the other one that had a high pitched noise. The new ones worked, but one of them also had a similar whine - and then went on and died after less than a day.

It was fun while it lasted though - I also got the Kali 6.2 sub and it was a descent sounding setup after some calibration. It should be noted that the calibration solution included from iLoud sucks and the desk preset gave a flatter in room response. Ended up running it through REW and APO for a descent result except from a dip at 200 and 260 Hz (might be the room).

But now I need to figure out what to do. I feel the life span of the iLouds is sketchy at best, so I might as well give up on the miniature format and cram in a couple of larger monitors. After all this desk is temporary, so at some point I will get back in a room with plenty of space.

Any advice on what monitors to get in the same price range as the MTMs? They should be able to go linear at least down to 80 Hz and be fit for near/ultra near field. So maybe something coaxial. They should in general be quite linear so I can EQ them to fit my preferred curve.

Sorry to hear that. I've not found anything that can compete with the MTMs in terms of the size and features at the same price point. You can mount Genelec the same way on mic stands, so that would be worth exploring, but it's going to cost you.

My MTM that developed a power fault went back to the shop, Bax Music, in late October - this was just within Bax's own 3 year warranty period. Bax sent the MTM back to IKMultimedia for repair (presumably to Italy). I received an e-mail earlier this week telling me that the unit couldn't be repaired and had been replaced. The replacement MTM arrived yesterday, I haven't plugged it in yet (I'm letting it acclimatize).

I purchased a 3rd MTM from Amazon UK in early November when it was on offer for £200 (1/3rd off list price). So I now have 3 MTMs. If the replacement MTM works fine and doesn't have any problems with power supply whine, then I will use it with the new one from Amazon and then decide whether to keep the original as a spare or sell it (or buy 2 more for a 5.1 setup, but I really don't want to go down that rabbit hole!)

 

[ooheadsoo]

I paired the micro monitor with a subwoofer via minidsp 2x4hd. Mine have not failed, yet.

 

[sweetchaos]

Any advice on what monitors to get in the same price range as the MTMs? They should be able to go linear at least down to 80 Hz and be fit for near/ultra near field. So maybe something coaxial. They should in general be quite linear so I can EQ them to fit my preferred curve.

You can go for Kali IN-5 (review by Erin), which costs the same as iLoud MTMs right now (US$350/each).

But is that going to be too big?
iLoud MTMs are very tiny in size/volume, so the comparable model would be Genelec 8010's (also US$350/each) (Amir's review).

Obviously, IN-5 will be much louder and bigger than 8010.

 

[fudun]

The Genelec 8010s are even smaller than the MTMs. I've never liked their design, and they seem to start giving up before 80 Hz, but they could be a good fit. Curious about how well I could integrate them with a sub. With the MTMs and the Kali sub I ended up setting the monitors HP filter at 60 Hz instead of running through the HP filter of the sub. A quick and dirty REW+APO calibration made for a descent bass response. If I had both speakers working I would have kept at it until the result was smoother, but it sounded good like this:

Purple is average response from around listening position before EQ
Orange is point measurement at right ear after calibration - I think the dip at around 520 Hz would even out with an average measurement

The Kali IN-5s would look ridiculous on my tiny desk, but I could cram them in at the expense of my coffee cups, whisky bottles, notebooks and other crap. I like the idea of the coaxial midrange and the way Erin describes the punchy bass, but I guess the lack of airyness is something I can't calibrate around. Would be fun to try them though. I rarely listen above 80 dB. Any ideas how they would compare to the Genelecs, paired with a sub at lower volumes?

 

[Ellebob]

I've had both in my home and we install both at work. The 8010 aka G One is one of my favorite small speakers and it works great with their F one sub. I haven't paired it with Kali sub. The Genelec sub uses a slightly higher crossover 85hz and I think that helps the 8010 by not going lower.

Some general notes.
The 8010 is great at low to mid volumes but it obviously is not going to have the dynamics of a bigger speakers.
The IN-5 will have more dynamics by a good margin. Very punchy, I am using a pair in my workout room now without a sub. I don't crank it but 8010 with sub I doubt would be as good.
Mids on the coaxial shine, really good on vocals.
I think highs go to the Genelec from memory.
Genelec has a wider soundstage or what Floyd calls apparent source width. It does fill a room nicely and we often get comments about how good the soundstage is on these little speakers.
It is a tough call and aesthetics play a role as well as space availability. I will say the 8020 is a pretty good jump in dynamics and not much larger. Of course different price range. I think the IN-5 is one of the best values for the price. Tough choice.

Another option if it fits is Kali IN-UNF. That has more dynamics then one expects but I don't know if it would fit your situation. You can pair it with a sub as well.

 

[fudun]

I think I will have to ask my dealer to get the 8020 and IN-5 for demoing or testing at home after christmas. I've read some reviews of the IN-UNF and wasn't convinced.

 

[fudun]

Ok, so I was planning to take the trip into the city to return the MTMs and demo 8010, 8020 an IN-5 today. Spent an hour yesterday digging the car out of the snow. Even moved it and removed all snow around it. Then today it wouldn't start. Battery not to happy with 25 centigrades below, and I seem to have the reverse Midas touch recently, so everything I touch turns to shit. The cables for the jumpstarter was missing. So I eventually gave up and headed back to the desk.

Back to my really ****** Acer display audio I realized I have never tried to EQ it. Actually got quite good on my first attempt, although there's not much to do about the highest frequencies.

Blue: Before / Green: After EQ

212 Hz is a bit annoying though

..and the distortion was there anyway

I wish my display had a line out or line in so I could play with integrating the Kali sub. A silly experiment, I know, I know...

Hah, solved it - found an old HDMI splitter that survived the basement flooding. Too bad everyone else is sleeping at the moment, so I can't really test it.

 

[fudun]

Finally got the house for myself and got to eq the display with sub. Not exactly fidelity - but quite fun.

Purple is average of 9 measurements around head position
Blue is single measurement at head position
Crossover at 120 Hz

 

[fudun]

Ended up buying Neumann KH-80. They're rather ugly in my opinion, and sound more like actual neutral and analytical monitors. Integrated well with the Kali 6.2 sub on my first attempt, but there's still work to be done.

This is an average of one point measurement per channel at head position, so not an actual average:

I also tried a lot of other monitors but in non-comparable positions in a noisy store, so I wasn't able to really hear what I was buying. But I didn't like the Genelec 8020's default sound as the bass was really unbalanced. The Kali IN-5s sounded awesome with a lot of punch at midfield, but they had a lot more hiss and noise I think. Also they would be way too large.

I'll stop spamming my own thread and come back with a new one when I get some time to play around with this setup.

 

[poxymoron]

Ended up buying Neumann KH-80. They're rather ugly in my opinion, and sound more like actual neutral and analytical monitors. Integrated well with the Kali 6.2 sub on my first attempt, but there's still work to be done.

This is an average of one point measurement per channel at head position, so not an actual average:

View attachment 340819

I also tried a lot of other monitors but in non-comparable positions in a noisy store, so I wasn't able to really hear what I was buying. But I didn't like the Genelec 8020's default sound as the bass was really unbalanced. The Kali IN-5s sounded awesome with a lot of punch at midfield, but they had a lot more hiss and noise I think. Also they would be way too large.

I'll stop spamming my own thread and come back with a new one when I get some time to play around with this setup.

What's your verdict on the Kali 6.2?

 

[fudun]

What's your verdict on the Kali 6.2?

It is a good sub for it's size, but the I haven't tried any other subs in this setup. I currently don't have any other subs I could compare it to. I have two Sonos subs in the living room - maybe I should see if it is possible to hack one of them to have a line in.

The dual opposed design works great. No vibrations. Needs EQ if you want linear response, but if you do you can get quite decent fidelity down to 30 Hz. Below 30 Hz you get a bit more distortion at higher SPL, so it is not great for a larger setup, but decent for nearfield. My room is an untreated bedroom, and I haven't had the chance to play around with placement yet. I have some longer signal cables in shipment at the moment so will get to it eventually.