I should note a serious deficiency here: there is just no dynamic range here. Turn up the volume a hair beyond average and the clipping indicator blinks red. Go up a bit more and you are greeted with awful distortion from the little woofers. And that gap is very small. While I can get just about enough volume out of any active speaker, here I could not. I had to run the volume down to avoid clipping. A pair of them may still be satisfying but I only bought one speaker so can't test that hypothesis. Given the short distance to such monitors though, it is easy to go over the thresholds listed so use the tilt mechanism built into the base to point the tweeter at you.

Each speaker has an adjustable stand, is Bluetooth capable, has built-in EQ (HF and LF), onboard headphone output and front-mounted standby switch/level control. There was little flabbiness and our mixes opened up for inspection under the spotlight now beaming on them via the Precisions, revealing detail – and our mixing errors, it has to be said. Based on my evaluation, IK Multimedia’s iLoud Micro absolutely delivers on sound quality and value. There is a bass extension which I left in the default 50 Hz. All other settings were neutral during testing. As you see, I had to turn the gain way down to test the unit. So even though we have balanced input, sensitivity is quite high even in +4 dBu mode. The low frequency -3dB switch cuts out some bass and allows more of the mid and high frequencies to shine without being overtaken by the bass at low volume settings.When you push the volume knob to the absolute extreme limits, it seems to hold push the mids forward whilst keeping the bass at a more refined level, not to become a muddy mess. The question is really whether you should spend four figures on a set of monitors like this, especially as the last few years have seen some great and cheap speaker models from the likes of Adam Audio, Kali Audio, KRK, Presonus, JBL and indeed IK themselves (with the aforementioned MTMs).

In our space, the difference was noticeable but not dramatic, but the outcome made sense, particularly having heard the peaks and troughs in the low-frequency tone cycle. 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. Predicted in-room response is for far field listening in a typical room so not as applicable to monitors on a desk: I must stay, I did not expect such a nice frequency response out of this speaker! The word "multimedia" makes me think of mostly junk consumer speakers for computers. The iLoud MTM firmly belongs in "pro" space with this kind of good on-axis response and reasonable directivity. The sharp drop off in bass indicates good use of DSP to flatten bass way better than these two little midwoofers could do by themselves I suspect. Sure, there are some resonances but their overall effect seems mild. 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.The IK Multimedia iLoud Micro is the perfect marriage between quality and value that is hard to pass up. Before all this, I was in IT supporting Windows NT on Wall Street in the late 1990s. I realized I’d much rather play with technology and write about it, than support it 24/7 and be blamed for everything that went wrong. I grew up playing and recording music on keyboards and the Atari ST, and I never really stopped. For a while, I produced sound effects and music for video games (mostly mobile games in the 2000s). I still mix and master music for various independent artists, many of whom are friends. I am going to recommend the IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Monitors. What they do within their capability is excellent. I personally would not buy them because they don't get loud enough but you may have different priorities.

At the budget end of the spectrum, there are certain concessions that have to be made versus more advanced models. Often, this comes in a reduction of the available frequency range and, more often than not, it’s bass that suffers. The Alesis Elevate 5 MKII proves this point, but that doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker; the Japanese firm has included a dedicated bass boost switch for those moments when you are listening for pleasure, rather than for reference.The ST6 Twin6 is a reboot of the venerable Twin6 Be, an evergreen studio monitor in Focal’s pro range. Although it looks like a traditional 3-way monitor, with two woofers and a tweeter, it is in fact a less common 2.5-way system. Both woofers are the same size, and both handle bass, but only one of them reproduces the midrange before a high-frequency crossover point is reached. One of the advantages of a 2.5-way system is that the woofers are smaller, in this case just 6.5 inches, yet can still deliver significant bass. From stand to the speaker enclosure, it looks and feels kind of like Genelec. Of course the configuration of dual mid-woofers and tweeter is unlike Genelec. dBSPL response on the left is fine and shows very low distortion from midrange to upper treble. 96 dBSPL though shows "conduct unbecoming a pro monitor!" I could hear alien sounds as I ran the sweeps! Spec oddly says 101 dBSPL and I but not sure how they got that: The MTMs are clinical and brutally ‘honest’ and take imaging to a level that we’d expect to hear from monitors costing three times as much. Subtle mid/high details that previously went unnoticed become perfectly audible, making corrective targeting of individual elements within the mix almost supernaturally easy. Low-end solidity and control are remarkable for a speaker of this size, too, and they never really seem to get fatiguing.

Those mid/high details that hitherto were too subtle, going unnoticed, are now perfectly audible. The corrective targeting of individual elements within the mix is supernaturally easy. That solidity in the bass allied to the level of control is just remarkable for a speaker of this size, too. To top it off, they never get fatiguing. I myself, for example, used K&M 23250 offered by Thomann as they are perfect match for these monitors from design wise and have just enough height to lift these from desk level to my ear level. (Small hint to Thoman, maybe you should offer these together as bundle?) You essentially get two ways to adjust the frequency response of the Precision range to deliver a flat response according to their surroundings. Both of these involve connecting up the X-Monitor software running on your Mac or PC to each speaker via USB. You can choose from a selection of preset frequency curves (see picture above) and the speakers will then raise or lowerparts of the frequency range accordingly. Volume-wise it exceeded my own Minirig 3 speaker and absolutely destroyed my other portable Bluetooth speaker, the Gear4. However, what impressed me the most was the ability to go loud whilst keeping it all together. Bass is incredibly plentiful yet also manages to remain very tight for something this size.For those with limited desk space, or seeking a surgical secondary pair to their main ‘fun’ monitors, the iLoud MTM really is a truly incredible solution. As someone who is used to headphones sound with EQ, I can tell you that these were my best investment. To get these kind of sound and imaging for this amout of price? Simply amazing I don't regret it one bit.