IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Review (active monitor)

[Chromatischism]

On second thought, it may be too tall.

Without the mic clip it's shorter than 12.60 inches. Maybe around 10". But that is still too high for me.

My ear height is 9-12" off my desk depending how I'm sitting. The MTM tweeter is 5.25" from the bottom of the speaker. So a 4-6" stand would be ideal. Maybe this: https://www.amazon.com/Samson-MD5-Desktop-Microphone-Stand/dp/B000MYIIRG/

Base is pretty wide though and eats into the space savings this speaker provides.

 

[Berwhale]

I don't know if you can get hold of them in the US, but these look nice... 23250 Design microphone table stand | König & Meyer US (k-m.de)

 

[Chromatischism]

I don't know if you can get hold of them in the US, but these look nice... 23250 Design microphone table stand | König & Meyer US (k-m.de)

That looks brilliant. I can slip them under my desk pad. A little bit tall but maybe I can make them work.

 

[Chromatischism]

Thanks to @Berwhale I am now using the above-mentioned mic stands for the iLoud MTM's. They were a little bit tall, but then I raised my chair

Due to where the rotation stops on the threads they must be oriented this way, but it's fine because they would be more tippy if you turned them around.

The stands aren't any wider than the speakers so you keep the slim profile advantage.

I used these to adapt them: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LNT48CS/r because I wanted black to match.

 

[ernestcarl]

They were a little bit tall, but then I raised my chair

If the floor is too low now, you could always get an elevated foot rest like these: https://ergocanada.com/ec_home/products/foot_rests_1.html

 

[infinitesymphony]

If the floor is too low now, you could always get an elevated foot rest like these: https://ergocanada.com/ec_home/products/foot_rests_1.html

And as your chair and feet gradually extend farther away from each other over time, you can move to the Altwork Station:

 

[Berwhale]

If the floor is too low now, you could always get an elevated foot rest like these:

Or a foot hammock with integrated headphone hanger ... Auoinge Foot Hammock with Headphone Holder, Updated Desk Hammock Portable Durable Foot Rest with Adjustable Screw in Rubber Clamps for All Desk: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

 

[ernestcarl]

And as your chair and feet gradually extend farther away from each other over time, you can move to the Altwork Station:

View attachment 115175

Nice that it has wheels to move around... Though it reminds me too much of a dentist's chair.

 

[ernestcarl]

Or a foot hammock with integrated headphone hanger ... Auoinge Foot Hammock with Headphone Holder, Updated Desk Hammock Portable Durable Foot Rest with Adjustable Screw in Rubber Clamps for All Desk: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

Eh... also very nice that it's "portable", but... something with a solid footing would be better. I actually use an ottoman underneath my standing desk when I'm using the high chair even though that one already has a footrest.

 

[Chromatischism]

Being all set up at my new desk in a different room and with stands, I wanted to try the ARC calibration again. I actually read the directions this time and low and behold, I did it wrong the first time. The mic should be oriented at 0 degrees, not 90!

This time I did not get the weird tonality that @amirm also noticed, so that is progress. I'm not ready to say ARC is great, though, just ok. EQ systems that take multiple measurements and apply more aggressive filtering are better. I will likely experiment with that eventually.

 

[dominikz]

Being all set up at my new desk in a different room and with stands, I wanted to try the ARC calibration again. I actually read the directions this time and low and behold, I did it wrong the first time. The mic should be oriented at 0 degrees, not 90!

This time I did not get the weird tonality that @amirm also noticed, so that is progress. I'm not ready to say ARC is great, though, just ok. EQ systems that take multiple measurements and apply more aggressive filtering are better. I will likely experiment with that eventually.

I'd suggest to try recalibrating without the chair, as ARC may try to EQ out the interference (I expect some comb filtering) caused by reflection from the headrest, which your ears would otherwise likely be able to distinguish from direct sound coming from the speakers.
In any case, looks like a nice desktop setup!

 

[Olioli]

Would be awesome if someone who has these on stands could guide me to some worth investing in

Have had my eyes on some k&m mic stands but dont the base need to be heavier than the speaker? (Base 1,3kg / MTM 2,5kg)? Sorry if thats a really noob question haha

Also have you noticed any significant improvement from them being on stands contra just using the stand tilt that comes with the speakers?

 

[Olioli]

Being all set up at my new desk in a different room and with stands, I wanted to try the ARC calibration again. I actually read the directions this time and low and behold, I did it wrong the first time. The mic should be oriented at 0 degrees, not 90!

This time I did not get the weird tonality that @amirm also noticed, so that is progress. I'm not ready to say ARC is great, though, just ok. EQ systems that take multiple measurements and apply more aggressive filtering are better. I will likely experiment with that eventually.

Dont they tilt easily on those stands? Given the MTMs are much heavier than those stands? Or are they actually quite stable?

Appreciate any input as Im looking into getting these on stands aswell

 

[Chromatischism]

Dont they tilt easily on those stands? Given the MTMs are much heavier than those stands? Or are they actually quite stable?

Appreciate any input as Im looking into getting these on stands aswell

If you bump them, you could knock them over. But there are no people or pets here so I'm good. You could always add weight to the base if needed.

 

[Chromatischism]

Wanting to get the most out of these, I set out this weekend to learn a few new tricks: moving mic measurement averaging, REW equalization filter creation, and Equalizer APO. I believed that equalizing a spatial average would give better results than iLoud ARC's single-point measurement. Here are the results.

Left and Right speakers before we begin. All measurements used an averaging with the following settings: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ving-microphone-method-help.12641/post-699482

Removing a lot of excess energy with the REW EQ tool. We are being much more aggressive than ARC with these settings.

I've drawn a red circle on the button in PEACE to import the text file created by REW. Left and Right speakers each used their own filter files.

Results. I don't know if I trust the response below 40 Hz. There was big variability in the measurements there. Still tweaking but this is pretty close! I'll probably drop the 2-3 kHz region a dB or so as I think it sounds better that way.

So, how do they sound? If they were a 65/100 before, now they are a solid 80/100. It was a big improvement. Toggling the EQ on and off clearly reveals the payoff for the time spent. Highly recommended.

I still think my ELAC DFR's and Buchardt S400's sound better but the gap has shrunk. Maybe it's the desk, maybe it's the chair, maybe it's the space, but desk speakers never sound as good to me as speakers in a room.

 

[mitchco]

Maybe it's the desk, maybe it's the chair, maybe it's the space, but desk speakers never sound as good to me as speakers in a room.

Getting good sound from desktops is harder because of the factors you mention. Would be interested to see the time domain (i.e. step response)...

To get that last 20% improvement one can use "purpose-built" DSP that not only smooths the response, but also cleans up the time domain (i.e. reflections) that are are so detrimental to desktop response.

For example, I have a similar response with the iLoud MTM's on my desktop:

Using Focus Fidelity, I was able to smooth out that response nicely:

Here is the time domain response before DSP. One can see the reflection at 7ms is almost the same amplitude as the direct sound. This really colors the sound as a result of the desktop environment. Another reflection at 29 ms that does not help:

However, with time domain correction we can really clean it up and in the case below, almost text book perfect step response:

Ah, no more desk reflections. Sounds pretty good. More info here.

 

[hyperplanar]

Getting good sound from desktops is harder because of the factors you mention. Would be interested to see the time domain (i.e. step response)...

To get that last 20% improvement one can use "purpose-built" DSP that not only smooths the response, but also cleans up the time domain (i.e. reflections) that are are so detrimental to desktop response.

For example, I have a similar response with the iLoud MTM's on my desktop:

View attachment 116961

Using Focus Fidelity, I was able to smooth out that response nicely:

View attachment 116959

Here is the time domain response before DSP. One can see the reflection at 7ms is almost the same amplitude as the direct sound. This really colors the sound as a result of the desktop environment. Another reflection at 29 ms that does not help:

View attachment 116962

However, with time domain correction we can really clean it up and in the case below, almost text book perfect step response:

View attachment 116960

Ah, no more desk reflections. Sounds pretty good. More info here.

Interesting, I've spent a lot of time trying to mitigate the effect of desktop reflection for years, to no avail. I found that the comb filtering frequency would vary significantly within my normal range of motion leaning forwards or backwards, and so was never really able to come up with a filter that would work unless my head was locked in place. I ended up just placing my speakers on the very front edge of my desk and accepted the compromise in imaging from not having an equilateral setup, as that was much more acceptable to me than the coloration from desk reflections which make the speakers borderline unlistenable.

If I'm understanding what you wrote in the article correctly, the filter the software generated produced good results across every position? I'm curious to see what the resultant step response looks like at other positions. I wonder if there's a way to replicate what this software does with free alternatives, I would certainly love to be able to put my speakers back at the rear of my desk.

 

[Chromatischism]

Getting good sound from desktops is harder because of the factors you mention. Would be interested to see the time domain (i.e. step response)...

To get that last 20% improvement one can use "purpose-built" DSP that not only smooths the response, but also cleans up the time domain (i.e. reflections) that are are so detrimental to desktop response.

For example, I have a similar response with the iLoud MTM's on my desktop:

View attachment 116961

Using Focus Fidelity, I was able to smooth out that response nicely:

View attachment 116959

Here is the time domain response before DSP. One can see the reflection at 7ms is almost the same amplitude as the direct sound. This really colors the sound as a result of the desktop environment. Another reflection at 29 ms that does not help:

View attachment 116962

However, with time domain correction we can really clean it up and in the case below, almost text book perfect step response:

View attachment 116960

Ah, no more desk reflections. Sounds pretty good. More info here.

Reducing the magnitude of the frequency response will also reduce the impulse peaks. Unless you are doing something else? Reading your article now.

 

[Chromatischism]

@mitchco was your after measurement L&R combined? There is a lot of comb filtering.

Mine was individual channels using a moving mic average.

 

[nolans]

Like some of you, I have incredibly limited desk space and a small room (9'x10') which has led me to purchase a pair of the iLoud MTM speakers. I am trying to figure out an optimal setup and have landed on the following decisions after countless hours of researching on this site. The speakers will be on 9" Kanto stands (placing the tweeters at my ears) equally distanced from each other and to my ears. They will be running through an SMSL M500 balanced which will be connected to my desktop via USB. There are a few aspects of my setup that I haven't been able to fully grasp and I would be grateful if someone could point me towards a thread where I could learn more or explain it here.

First, I have seen arguments about how a DAC interacts with a DSP speaker. Does having a good DAC like the M500 have a beneficial impact on my setup or is it redundant since the speakers are already converting the signal internally?

Second, if I chose to run the MTM's into a studio subwoofer crossed over at 60hz and pass the signal from the sub to the M500 to give the speakers more headroom for playing at louder volumes without distortion, would I lose the room correction functionality of the speakers? On this note, why are people discussing running a sub through miniDSP's active crossovers rather than using a studio subwoofer with the connections and crossover functionality built-in? Is it just for affordability or utilizing existing equipment?

Thank you all for the engaging and interesting discussion in this thread!