IK iLoud MTM MKII VS Neumann KH80 VS Genelec 8020?

[yukinawa]

Hi there,
I'm about to travel for a longer period but I still need to work while there (sigh) and deliver decent mixes, so I'm gonna need a good small setup. The current options would be the IK iLoud MTM MKII, Neumann KH80 or Genelec 8020.
Loudness isn't so important given that I'll be in a non-studio environment, also at this size I don't expect miracles when it comes to bass frequencies. The MKII come with the calibration mic (ARC), for the other ones I can use my Sonarworks mic. There isn't too much user information out there for the MKIIs because it's so new, but loads on the previous model. weight-wise they're the most travel-friendly but it's all plus minus 2kg total which I'll survive.
Anyone out there who has tried a few of them? Unfortunately there's no music store here that has them set up and I have to order online.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[staticV3]

Hi @yukinawa! Welcome to ASR.

Here are Klippel (=anechoic) measurements and listening impressions of the MTM MKII:

Personally, I would stay away from MTM designs of any sort.

 

[yukinawa]

Hi @yukinawa! Welcome to ASR.

Here are Klippel (=anechoic) measurements and listening impressions of the MTM MKII:

Personally, I would stay away from MTM designs of any sort.

oh wow, didn't know Erin's channel, thank you so much!

 

[Miguelón]

I recommend you the Genelec 8020, unfortunately I couldn’t find any measurements.

Genelec’s measurements show flat response from above 62 Hz in 3 dB margin, some minor deeps in 2-3 kHz probably around crossover freq.

Neumann’s kh 80 shows better measurements and goes lower in frequency, but honestly… it sounds bizarre. Totally non-scientific adjective, but it was really a mess in mid range compared with the Genelecs. I don’t know why, perhaps is the plastic case, it vibrates a lot. One can perfectly feel all the music by touching the lateral or the top of the speakers.

I never listened to the iLouds, it makes me wonder if 2 woofers of less diameter are better than one larger cone

 

[kyuu]

If it were me, it'd come down to how much I want to spend. If I want good sound for the least amount of money, I'd go with the original iLoud MTM (not Mk II). Simply because they're cheaper, $500/pr, and the MkII doesn't seem improved enough to warrant paying extra. Particularly because you're coming awful close to the price of the Genelec 8020D, which would absolutely be the choice if you don't mind the cost. FYI, Sweetwater has a couple of demo units available for a bit of a discount right now.

 

[JeremyFife]

Headphones?

 

[Rednaxela]

Not much to add, but this might be of interest.

Genelec G2 (8020) measurements

The Genelec G2 is the home equivalent of the 8020. Acoustically there is no difference. It is a ver compact 2-way model with a 4" woofer. On first glance the axial response is not perfect. Subjectively I don't believe these flaws are very audible. Compared directly in a large room to the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[holdingpants01]

IK MTM MK2, good sounding speakers, there's some low end and calibration is essential in random rooms

 

[Sacha]

I found the imaging on the MTM sounded unnatural, not sure if it was the MTM arrangement or something else but it sounded odd to me personally.

 

[Miguelón]

Not much to add, but this might be of interest.

Genelec G2 (8020) measurements

The Genelec G2 is the home equivalent of the 8020. Acoustically there is no difference. It is a ver compact 2-way model with a 4" woofer. On first glance the axial response is not perfect. Subjectively I don't believe these flaws are very audible. Compared directly in a large room to the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I have in this moment a Genelec G Two and a Genelec 8020D at home. They sound fantastic, specially the G Two.

To home setups, 8020D has a surprisingly high sensitivity: set close to its minimum equals the maximum of the G Two which is very surprising given the fact that many professionals use audio interfaces with 4 V balanced outputs that totally overcome the speaker (mine should be all time below half its volume).

Conversely G Two is better implemented at +2 dB (maximum) and -8 dB (minimum) compared to 8020D which translates to -4 dB and -14 dB fork subtracting 6 dB due to half voltage unbalanced RCA signal.

Plugged to WiiM Ultra, G Two sounds better to my ears also, I don’t know why because they measured equally at Genelec website. Perhaps it is equalized warmer or can be just little differences because of tolerances margins between speakers.

I felt in love with this little speaker: WiiM Ultra with G Two gives a super portable high quality ensemble

POST EDITING: I wrote a little messy comparison on sensitivity. More clearly:

8020D input gain settings (XLR inputs): -6 dB to + 6 dB which Genelec explain the numbers are dBU signal giving 100 dB SPL

G Two: Default setting (non specified) and -10 dB position, RCA inputs.

Equivalence measured with unbalanced signal at same position:

Genelec 8020D at +4 dB setting equals G Two at by default (maximum) level. To hotter signals one can reduce gain by 10 dB on the G Two.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Genelec 8020D at +4 dB setting equals G Two at by default (maximum) level. To hotter signals one can reduce gain by 10 dB on the G Two.

Interesting, I wouldn't have expected such a large difference. So basically in Neumann speak, the G Two offers either 96 dB or 86 dB SPL / 1 m @ 0 dBu. That's what I wish the 8010A had (or even 94/84), instead it got a choice of either 106 or 96 dB, which is quite absurdly high for a small speaker like that. But yeah, the 8020D is Genelec's second worst offender after that when it comes to excessive sensitivity.

Since you have both - is there a noticeable difference in hiss levels in nearfield? 8020D reviews suggest that you can never totally get rid of hiss, and my working theory is that it's because of the overly hot input. Mind you, the G Two doesn't need a balanced receiver circuit either, so that's one less noise source.

Thinking about it, maybe its sensitivity is much less to avoid ground loop (hum) issues left and right.

 

[Miguelón]

Interesting, I wouldn't have expected such a large difference. So basically in Neumann speak, the G Two offers either 96 dB or 86 dB SPL / 1 m @ 0 dBu. That's what I wish the 8010A had (or even 94/84), instead it got a choice of either 106 or 96 dB, which is quite absurdly high for a small speaker like that. But yeah, the 8020D is Genelec's second worst offender after that when it comes to excessive sensitivity.

Since you have both - is there a noticeable difference in hiss levels in nearfield? 8020D reviews suggest that you can never totally get rid of hiss, and my working theory is that it's because of the overly hot input. Mind you, the G Two doesn't need a balanced receiver circuit either, so that's one less noise source.

Thinking about it, maybe its sensitivity is much less to avoid ground loop (hum) issues left and right.

Yes, thats it, 96 dB @ 0 dBu in the more usual units: 8020D is too sensitive at 106 dB so I reduced to 94 dB setting the gain on +6 dB.

But is even worse because most of times, audio interfaces at 0 dBFS give > 14 dBU signal, so the 8020D will clip at -8 dBFS.

G Two will clip at -4 dBFS at 96 dB which is better, and at 86 dB will never clip but cannot go over 92,5 dB (is my choice, it is the long term max SPL of the speaker, so it has reserve of 7-8 dB to peaks at 2V rms signal)

Hiss is very discrete, but I can perceive it. I don’t find a difference between 8020 and G Two in hiss levels but I will test tomorrow because my neighbors have a party now .

If I remember well, ground loops are avoided when speakers are connected to a power strip which is the case at home. I can also try tomorrow to plug each speaker to different AC outlets, just by curiosity.

In my actual little apartment, I finally decided to keep G Two and maintain the simplicity of just the WiiM Ultra and the Genelecs. Also the subwoofer (or “bare-subwoofer as it goes to 35 Hz) F One will be simply connected to RCA sub output of the Ultra.

I had also the 8010A but was completely disappointed by the high distortion it shows on low end, but the G Two/8020 perform well.

POST EDITING: now the neighbors had stopped the music, so I can listen well. Hiss is slightly louder on 8020 at 106 dB, than on G Two at 86 dB but not a large difference

Subjectively G Two sound flatter, I cannot measure at this moment but throwing tracks I know well from other corrected gear, it seems better balanced.

Since it is the same speaker, possibly Genelec make more attention on the quality control of the G Two, since are more “plug and play” oriented, whereas 8020 is supposed to be addressed to consumers which will make EQ, gain fine tuning…