IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Review (active monitor)

[solderdude]

Thanks for the tip.. my other monitor also shows power supply problems now.
My son also has them, bought later though and so far they are still O.K.

The question is why the chips go bad after a year or so.
Is it a bad batch (chip) or is some other part in the power supply circuit going bad increasing the current draw and creating the issue ?

Probably going to do the same mod with the other speaker (external 24V brick as I have a few floating about and TSR-2412 for the internal 12V rail)

 

[Altonzasx]

Thanks for the tip.. my other monitor also shows power supply problems now.
My son also has them, bought later though and so far they are still O.K.

The question is why the chips go bad after a year or so.
Is it a bad batch (chip) or is some other part in the power supply circuit going bad increasing the current draw and creating the issue ?

Probably going to do the same mod with the other speaker (external 24V brick as I have a few floating about and TSR-2412 for the internal 12V rail)

In the case of the application used in the iloud mtm, the impact on the operation is unfortunately the company's economy and the lack of proper and recommended cooling of the chip during operation. The only radiator is the central mass surface in the PCB, and this turns out to be insufficient.

 

[somebodyelse]

In the case of the application used in the iloud mtm, the impact on the operation is unfortunately the company's economy and the lack of proper and recommended cooling of the chip during operation. The only radiator is the central mass surface in the PCB, and this turns out to be insufficient.

The package is designed to take an external heatsink on the top surface for higher power applications, as well as using the PCB. Is there enough space above it to mount one?

 

[Vict0r]

I used these mic arms with the stock springs replaced by these springs. At first I got some cheap extra springs that I added to the stock springs, but the ones below are strong enough to support the speakers throughout their full range

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Do you have a photo of how you've set them up right now?

 

[Altonzasx]

The package is designed to take an external heatsink on the top surface for higher power applications, as well as using the PCB. Is there enough space above it to mount one?

There is no space to install cooling

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Do you have a photo of how you've set them up right now?

I've changed my desktop since taking this photo, but I'm too lazy to clean everything off atm

 

[solderdude]

One of the MTM from my son just died the same way.
When you leave it un-powered for an hour or so it works for about 10 mins and shuts off.
He still has 3 weeks of warranty on it so went back to the dealer.

That leaves 1 out of 4 MTMs we own just did not develop this problem just yet, 3 of them did.
It baffles me that this issue (and fix) does not pop up on the web more though.
I am quite certain we are not the only ones.

I reckon the other one will start giving problems just past the warranty period.
Will replace the IC preventive once warranty has expired and see if I can glue a little heatsink to the new IC hopefully prolonging its service life.
Heatsinking through the pins to the PCB is most likely not enough or... there is just a whole batch of (potentially) faulty ICs being used.

I like how these speakers sound (once calibrated) and not driven loud .... (despite what the brand name suggests)

 

[monx]

I've changed my desktop since taking this photo, but I'm too lazy to clean everything off atm

Do you have them hanging upside down? This is a neat setup. Do you have a side photo?

 

[Ic3Ang3l]

Is the loudness of the calibration process tone independent of the volume control?

I just got the Micro Monitors Pro. And sadly, you can't select at which volume they are being calibrated. This causes a more than thin tone when hearing them at less than 80db...

 

[staticV3]

Is the loudness of the calibration process tone independent of the volume control?

I just got the Micro Monitors Pro. And sadly, you can't select at which volume they are being calibrated. This causes a more than thin tone when hearing them at less than 80db...

The iLoud calibration will aim for the same target response no matter which level the calibration sweep is played at, so even if you could customize the level, that thin tone would remain.

To solve this, go into the ARC X software and change the target response to something which works well even at low playback volumes (typically more bass and treble).

 

[Ic3Ang3l]

To solve this, go into the ARC X software and change the target response to something which works well even at low playback volumes (typically more bass and treble).

But that wouldn't be stored on the monitor, right? Just the changes of Monitor X are saved if I am not mistaken. I primarily use them to monitor instruments.

 

[staticV3]

But that wouldn't be stored on the monitor, right? Just the changes of Monitor X are saved if I am not mistaken. I primarily use them to monitor instruments.

ARC X runs on the monitors themselves, same as GLM or MA 1.

Once you've configured your preferred target response and stored the resulting correction in the ARC X application, you can uninstall ARC X and the monitors will stay corrected no matter where you feed them from.

 

[MKreroo]

I've changed my desktop since taking this photo, but I'm too lazy to clean everything off atm

What kg is the mic arm rated for? Am thinking about mounting them to mic arm as well but worry the arm tension is too light

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

What kg is the mic arm rated for? Am thinking about mounting them to mic arm as well but worry the arm tension is too light

The stock tension springs were unusable, but it wasn't hard to swap them out with beefier springs. I'll try to find the specific ones I used.
Edit: These are the springs I swapped in. Haven't had any issues or stability concerns since.

Do you have them hanging upside down? This is a neat setup. Do you have a side photo?

Yes they're hanging upside down. I don't have a side photo because my desk is a bit embarrassingly cluttered atm.

Overall I really like my setup. The one downside is that I can't use the dsp calibration because I regularly adjust my monitors' positioning depending on where I am in my apartment.

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

What kg is the mic arm rated for? Am thinking about mounting them to mic arm as well but worry the arm tension is too light

The stock tension springs were unusable, but it wasn't hard to swap them out with beefier springs. I'll try to find the specific ones I used.
Edit: These are the springs I swapped in. Haven't had any issues or stability concerns since.

I should also note that without the upgraded springs, the cheap mic arms can't hold these up at all. I broke one of the tension screws before I thought to upgrade the springs.