I like to think that I am a little spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing monitors for my own use. I’ve heard and used so many different pairs of studio monitors in varying price points and still continue to fall back to the same couple of pairs for most of my own use. But I have always struggled to find a compact monitor system that actually delivers in the sound quality that you would want in a home studio environment, or just for enjoyable listening around the house. That was until I heard these monitors. IK Multimedia have totally changed my opinion of compact monitors and the supposed concept that they need to be expensive to be worthwhile. Let me just say, these monitors certainly are punching above their weight. You could be forgiven for mistaking them for larger or more expensive monitors in a blind listening environment. In short, these sound amazing, and they take up very little desk space too.
As these are a compact speaker, you want them to be easy to operate in small confines. So all your inputs and controls are located on just one of the two speakers, with the other connected via a linking cable. This allows you to have all cabling running to just one location on your desk to keep it neat and tidy. Inputs are offered on one-eighth inch stereo jack or a pair of RCA connectors, as well as Bluetooth pairing for wireless use. There is also a simple three switch EQ selection that allows you to sculpt the sound slightly to suit the specific environment.
Being front ported, you can work with these fairly hard up against a wall, given clearance for your cables makes them perfect for small workspaces. They happily sit either side of a laptop and can be tilted back with the flip out rubber coated feet that not only position the speakers for best listening position, but also act to isolate and stabilise them from unwanted vibrations. IK Multimedia have certainly put a lot of thought into these compact monitors. There are design elements that appear to have been inspired by other studio monitors, but they do not include the price tag that said speakers carry, so you get a lot of speaker for a very respectable price. For home recording, tracking and editing, in a studio or on the go, or simply as a pair of quality listening speakers for your music room at home, these are a brilliant build quality and offer exceptional sound for the size and price.
Thanks to our friends at Sound & Music, we’re giving away a pair of IK Multimedia’s iLoud Micro Monitors. Find out how you can be in the running to win here.
