iLoud MTM uses the most advanced DSP techniques to provide total control over the speakers’ performance, delivering results simply not obtainable with traditional analog designs. First of all, the MTM is the bigger speaker, and with that comes a broader frequency response range, (slightly) lower bass extension and more power. There are three calibration settings to choose from. IK’s proprietary ARC calibration system compensates for room acoustics using the measurement microphone.

This is a more expensive option, but will give you the best quality sound. A stereo DI box, like the Radial Pro D2, will convert an unbalanced audio signal into balanced, while eliminating hum and buzz caused by ground loops. Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room. You can buy the iLoud MTM monitors as a pair or as single units. Buying them singly means you get an extra sparemeasurement microphone for the same price! The iLoud MTM monitor has a broad frequency response range, extending from 50 Hz (around G1 on a piano) to 24 kHz (±2.5dB).

The iLoud MTM sounds and kind of looks like a "multimedia" speaker but it clearly enjoys much better design. Tonality is neutral and sound is wonderful as a result. My only beef with it is that it just doesn't get loud even though its amplification specs are better than most budget monitors. I suspect fair amount of headroom is stolen internally to equalize the speaker and give it good bass. So if you expect to play it loud, these are not for you. And most definitely don't think of using them in far field listening. IK multimedia have upgraded the non-professional RCA and 1/8″ inputs of the iLoud Micro Monitor, with a fully professional dual XLR and 1/4″ connector. When set up in a great-sounding control room, the MTMs aren’t overly impressive, but when placed in less desirable or acoustically compromised sonic locations, iLoud MTM monitors truly shine." My time with this setup is split pretty evenly between audio post work for film/TV/commercials, music composition and mixing, and listening for enjoyment. I live in an apartment and my workstation is against a shared wall, so I rarely get the chance to listen at higher volumes. The Adams need to be turned up a bit to sound good, and the listening experience was always a dance between getting enough volume for them to open up, but not so much volume that the room turns everything to a resonant, muddy mess and my neighbors start banging on the wall. The T7V are also just a little too large for this space physically, and suffered from some pretty bad diffraction from the 49" 4K TV that I use as a computer monitor directly between them. This desk setup has also seen Dynaudio BM6mkiis, Adam A7xs, Behringer 2031s and 3030s, B&W DM602s, JM Labs 706s, and a couple of home-made designs.

iLoud Micro Monitor wowed the world with the bass performance it delivered from a 3” speaker that “defied physics”. But iLoud MTM offers even more, with even bass response down to an astonishing 40Hz ideal for modern music styles. Moving my head from extreme side to side was a strange sensation, as there was considerable movement in the stereo image, and individual instruments lost their pristine clarity. Turn each monitor slightly inwards, so the tweeters are inline with your ears. The iLoud MTM monitors monitors also have a tilting base, so you can angle them upwards to point towards your ears. But this means that it’s even more important to match the vertical alignment of the monitors with your ears. Moving out of alignment, either through poor monitor positioning, or leaving your desk, can result in less mid and high frequencies. There should be no objects in between your ears and the monitors – make sure you can see them in full. Measurements are compliant with latest speaker research into what can predict the speaker preference and is standardized in CEA/CTA-2034 ANSI specifications. Likewise listening tests are performed per research that shows mono listening is much more revealing of differences between speakers than stereo or multichannel.

The IK Multimedia iLoud MTM monitor has a port at the rear, which disperses soundwaves from behind the woofer into the listening environment. This helps to boost the lower frequencies when using such a small bass driver. This is far less hit-and-miss than using the presets as it really does tailor the speakers to the room they are in. It’sall done via a series of audio chirps played through each speaker via a set process of placing the mic in four positions around where your head would be. iLoud states with calibration that bass increases, 40Hz goes from F6 to F3, the latter seemingly the graph above.

The LF Extension Setting can be set to 40Hz, which does provide a quiet impression of bass down to the lowest sting of a bass guitar.

Plus of course you can adjust low-frequency extension and trim the LF and HF response to your taste.