IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Review (active monitor)

[andreasmaaan]

The way they've juggled the driver directivities, waveguide, and crossover is very impressive. It's among the best vertical dispersion profiles I can recall seeing from an MTM design.

 

[thewas]

The way they've juggled the driver directivities, waveguide, and crossover is very impressive. It's among the best vertical dispersion profiles I can recall seeing from an MTM design.

Tiny 3" drivers and tweeter without a large mounting plate help a lot there, you cant get 2 midwoofer centre points closer than that to each other.

 

[YSC]

The way they've juggled the driver directivities, waveguide, and crossover is very impressive. It's among the best vertical dispersion profiles I can recall seeing from an MTM design.

yes, as well as I don't like it's look it's impressive achievement, of coz for my previous comment of being small is the horizontal and depth/length dimension, that should be the main limiting factor for real small rooms

 

[waldo]

my pairs are clipped at +1dBu signal input.
I supposed volume control must be set to 0dB when testing 96dB SPL
bass won't be better though

 

[andreasmaaan]

Tiny 3" drivers and tweeter without a large mounting plate help a lot there, you cant get 2 midwoofer centre points closer than that to each other.

Ofc that helps too But also note how the waveguide controls vertical dispersion in the top couple of octaves, and that this dispersion control blends nicely with the cancellation caused by the XO. This means that vertical dispersion is reasonably well-controlled from from 2kHz to 20kHz.

This is an especially useful feature for a speaker that will likely be listened to on a desktop at distances of say 50cm to 1.2m, since the first cancellation from desktop bounce will fall within the 2kHz to 5kHz range.

 

[Berwhale]

Yep, much larger than what one imagines them to be. It is their "slimness" that give this illusion of them being super compact. But if one is really tight on space -- width-wise, at least -- there isn't anything else that can compete with the iLoud MTM. Plus their pretty light too.

They are also quite shallow, they're 5cm less deep than my 4" Tannoy Reveal 402's, although they are still a little deeper than the 8020D.

 

[Berwhale]

my pairs are clipped at +1dBu signal input.
I supposed volume control must be set to 0dB when testing 96dB SPL
bass won't be better though

View attachment 98950

Yes, from page 10 of the manual...

7. Turn your audio playback system on (Mixing console, Audio interface, etc.). Make sure you have set the
proper input sensitivity using the SENS button, then set the volume control to MAX (full clockwise). This
is the reference position for the SPL calibrated values in the specs. Adjust the volume control to a lower
position only if needed or only in case you require different levels between the speakers.

 

[bennybbbx]

It is correct, the mtm can not play loud in measuremt. The reason of distortion is heavy bass port noise. play a bass with around 65 db (measure with sound level meter)let hear pass port noise when play solo Bass or play measure signals. I have them currently 1,1 m away. maybe i put them more near. The bass port is on backside this help to reduce the noise a little. I think the bass is much and depend how near they stand to wall as of all back fired ports. I have done a quick test with close the bass port with a foam. this reduce the bass but it can go much louder. the question is. when close the bass port does the amp in the MTM then not get much hotter. because when the MTM is longer on, there can feel warm air that come from bass port when play music. I have ask ik support if can close the bass port. on music port noise can not hear. for example beginning of coming home from scorpions i hear port nose not. on measure signals and solo bass can hear much port noise. really sad. this is a excellent design. presnus use too 2 tweeter design. they have 2 bass ports. i think MTM with 2 bass ports is then perfect. because i think small speakers are more precise and so give more stereo width they maybe can do a larger box that have 2 additional 3,5 zoll speakers left and right of tweeter. then i think can go loud.and of course larger bass ports

I am happy with the sound, it have good stereo width much more as Kali LP6 and a little more as the Canton. and on normal music. only thing is the bass port noise when play solo bass. I have settings set to 40 hz. the example is a A(around 54 hz) play on Bass. the lowest note on a 4 fret bass is 41 hz most music use not lower notes. so i am happy with 40 hz. but i can say the LP6 have much less port noise on the bass test. as can see the phase is excellent on flat setting on speaker. on Cal(i call it measured) and Desk setting its more but it stay near same from 600 hz upto 20 khz. i hear no diffrence that sound as phase problem

 

[bennybbbx]

I have also do distortion compare between kali LP6 and iloud. on low bass you need notice that the LP6 bass level is much lower as the iloud level. and when boost the LP6 to the level on 40 -60 hz as the iloud have the LP6 distort as hell.

 

[uwotm8]

Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II (2x3" + tweeter) delivered as a pair for a price of a dinner

I use T20 SII as a default PC speaker for Windows event sounds and I don't believe it's comparable to small Genelec or iLouds. They have warm-n-sloppy V-signature, can't play loud and overall are made for normies who choose between them and Bose Companion etc. place-saving table speakers. There's also no bi-amplification and crossover is passive.

 

[nocrapman]

I have been lurking here for a few months and have quietly enjoyed the discussions and objective data so meticulously taken and posted without the obvious biases that are in play in the popular rags (AS, SP), or even the popular youtube channels/websites.
Thank you Amir!
I just signed up here post my experience with the iLouds MTM that I have been enjoying in my desktop recently.
I am just floored by the performance of these little speakers.
I was previously running Emotivas Airmotiv 4 monitors with the AMT tweeter. Not a bad unit but the iLouds fly in a different orbit. Even without the Room Correction/calibration they sounded great.
After the Cal, the treble/HF was a shimmery as noted by Amir, but the bass sounded tighter but still ample and full.
I still am in disbelief at what these little guys can do in terms to Bass. I do like them at the default uncalibrated settings.
I do not need a sub here!
Also they get plenty loud. I have the gain turned on the lowest setting. Even with that the RME is at -53dB or thereabouts for normal listening levels. -50 for rocking out. Any louder, I will need hearing protection or hearing aid in near future.

Great bang for buck product. Together with the RME ADI-2 dac (thats what I am using to feed these)these are a great desktop combo.
My reference speakers are Magenpans 3.7i supported by 3 18" Rythmik subs with DIRAC live and DLBC in play.
Obviously not in the same league, not the last word in monitors, but for my use/purpose and investment... just stellar...

FYI - I have no association with industry/dealers/seller.

 

[hardisj]

How do you get an impedance graph in an active speaker with DSP crossover???

Well, I was gonna say to disconnect the amplifier leads but I honestly forgot this was an active design and that would be too much to measure each driver. Besides, the CSD you posted answers the question so no need now.

 

[sarumbear]

View attachment 98804

May I ask the source of the iLoud data? Publishing an -6dB response at around 30 Hz from a a speaker with two 3" speakers is a outrageous, I think. What is the point of that chart if you cannot use the speaker at that range? Especially when their name is I (go) Loud!

Not to mention it doesn't even tally with real world measurements...

 

[wwenze]

Well some people are interested in amplifier input impedance...

May I ask the source of the iLoud data? Publishing an -6dB response at around 30 Hz from a a speaker with two 3" speakers is a outrageous, I think. What is the point of that chart if you cannot use the speaker at that range? Especially when their name is I (go) Loud!

Not to mention it doesn't even tally with real world measurements...

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iloudmtm/

I'm thinking maybe that only works after the build-in EQ is enabled? (I mean it already has a ton of EQ, but I'm talking about the mic one)
*Above statement would imply in-room performance too, as usually is the case with specs from speaker manufacturers

 

[kaka89]

Preference Rating
SCORE: 5.4
SCORE w/ sub: 7.5

Frequency response: +/-2.9dB 50Hz-20kHz

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This clearly shows the limitation of the preference score. One must also consider the SPL, distortion and directivity of the speaker.

 

[Kachda]

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This clearly shows the limitation of the preference score. One must also consider the SPL, distortion and directivity of the speaker.

Using the preference score to rank speakers has several problems, for example we also have to consider the use case. These are meant to be used on the desktop. For that range, it is loud enough for my needs.

This is why it makes more sense to read the review and figure out if it makes sense for your needs.

 

[YSC]

Using the preference score to rank speakers has several problems, for example we also have to consider the use case. These are meant to be used on the desktop. For that range, it is loud enough for my needs.

This is why it makes more sense to read the review and figure out if it makes sense for your needs.

this actually makes sense to me, I wonders anyone will buy this instead of all those 5"-8" 2way monitors from everyone else if intended to listen in mid to far field, the whole idea of having 2 mid woofers is for horizontal space saving no?

 

[BenB]

The little waveguide around the tweeter appears to be helping the directivity in the MTM configuration. In theory the narrower vertical dispersion should help avoid sound bouncing off your desk.

I am very suspicious of any automated room correction, so I'd skip that feature.

Does distortion seem to go down if the bass trim is adjusted, or is it all through the midrange regardless?

The waveguide may help some in limiting the sound bouncing off the desk, though there appears to be a flare-up in the 4-5 kHz range. The directivity provided by the two woofers can be very different in the nearfield vs the farfield, so I wouldn't count on the type of directivity Amir showed to be realized between 600 and 2,000 Hz.

 

[amirm]

I would caution against using these as a soundbar horizontally. The vertical directivity will become your horizontal:

As you see, you now have to stay within +- 20 degrees of the tweeter. In my listening tests, the tonality shift was quite significant vertically. I would not want that in TV listening with the speaker turned sideways. For computer use it could work if you don't move left and right much.

 

[MZKM]

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This clearly shows the limitation of the preference score. One must also consider the SPL, distortion and directivity of the speaker.

It is a tonality preference.
There is no way to “rank” a speaker if considering multiple variables. Also, Amir doesn’t test max SPL. In my Speaker Selector spreadsheet I have the sensitivity listed for passives, but that obviously won’t apply to actives.