I make music in a tiny wee broom cupboard that would make even Edd the Duck feel claustrophobic.
So finding a pair of studio monitors that actually fit on my desk as well as sound half decent in such a small and badly treated room has been a challenge.
I usually have a pair of Adam Audio TV5’s in my micro studio that do sound great, but were still a bit too big for the space.
So when IK Multimedia reached out and asked if I wanted to test out their new and improved iLoud MTM MKII studio monitors, I absolutely jumped at the chance.
Watch my review below, or continue reading for the full write up.
The new IK Multimedia iLoud MTM MKII monitors are a follow up to IK Multimedia’s hugely popular original iLoud MTM Monitors which were released back in 2019.
They boast improved speaker drivers, off-axis response, power efficiency and SPL, higher onboard processing power and double the DSP. IK’s X-MONITOR software is also now integrated into the workflow – more on that a bit later on.
The MTM MKII houses a pair of 3.5″ high-performance woofers and one 1″ high-definition, back-chamber loaded tweeter with improved drivers. IK Multimedia say these deliver superior volume and low end while providing increased clarity and mid-range articulation.
What’s in the box?
Inside the iLoud MTM MKII’s box you’ll find:
- The speaker itself.
- Some documentation
- A horizontal base for positioning your monitor sideways
- A tilting vertical stand and locking key
- An XLR cable specifically for the included ARC microphone
- A USB A to USB B cable for attaching the monitor to your Mac or PC
- A power cable for the iLoud monitor
- The Arc microphone itself and a microphone clip to attach it to a microphone stand.
Assuming you grabbed a pair of iLoud’s, the other box will contain identical items, except for the ARC microphone.
On the back of the iLoud MTM MKII’s are:
- 5 frequency control buttons that allow you to do things like filter out frequencies below a certain point, add high or low pass shelves or apply a specific frequency preset.
- A volume knob that’s actually notched at 0DB, which is really handy for knowing what volume the knob is set to without having to turn the whole speaker around.
- There’s a XLR and 1/4″ TRS combo input here which allows you to connect to an audio interface or mixer using XLR cables (balanced), TRS 1/4″ cables (balanced) or TS 1/4″ cables (unbalanced).
- Below that is the dedicated input for the ARC calibration microphone and a USB port to connect the speaker to your Mac or PC using the included cable.
- Finally down at the bottom is the input for the included power cable and a push and click style power button.
X-Tra functionality
If you just want to unbox the iLoud MTM MKII monitors, attach them to your audio interface and start mixing you absolutely can, but you’d be missing out on a whole lot of functionality.
Installing IK Multimedia’s X-Monitor software on your Mac or PC and connecting the iLoud MTM MKII monitors via their included USB cables gives you access to a lot of extra functionality.
The Voice menu allows you to emulate the frequency and phase response of a variety of other speaker systems (reference studio speakers, hi-fi speakers and multimedia devices), which lets you audition how well your mix translates on different systems.
You can also select from 15 different contour presets that are starting points for the user as they refer to the most common studio monitor placement scenarios.
The standout feature of these monitors overall in my opinion involves the included ARC calibration microphone.
If like me you have a badly treated room, this is a proper game changer.
The whole idea of calibrating your monitors may seem a little daunting at first, but with the X-Monitor software, IK Multimedia have made the process really simple.
Calibrating the iLoud monitors to your room is simply a case of connecting then positioning the ARC calibration microphone in 4 positions around where you would usually sit, running the capture sequence each time.
Duplicate the process for the other iLoud monitor and you’ll be left with a custom EQ profile specific to your room.
As a result, mixing with the IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Mark 2 Studio Monitors is a great experience.
The stereo seperation and clarity are superb and the low end is exceptional – a miracle in monitors this small.
The range of responses in the voices menu were also really helpful for mixing, saving me the trouble of manually checking how mixes sound on things like TVs and consumer grade Hi-Fi speakers.
Who are they for?
If you make your own music at home in a smaller, untreated room like a spare bedroom, office or (like me) an old cupboard then you should absolutely consider a pair of these.
Not only do they sound better than any monitors of this size have any right to straight out of the box, the ability to accurately calibrate them to your room will genuinely make your music sound better.
Those working in larger rooms or more ‘pro’ studios can still absolutely make use of these, but you need to bear in mind that they are super near field monitors. They are absolutely at their best at around about an arm’s length away, maybe a bit more.
They’re portable, built well and sound incredible.
For me personally the IK Multimedia iLoud MTM MKII Studio Monitors are perfect for the space I create music in and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them for anyone working in an acoustically less than perfect room who still wants accurate and detailed sound.
