Extra small but still decent monitors?

May be worth trying those iLoud speakers if you want portable and don't want Genelec. I had a pair and they were okay for low volumes, didn't really wow me. But they are compact, should be durable for travel, and would be lighter weight. And they sell a travel bag which would be good. The 8010's were a slight step up but are twice the price.

Do you need stereo? You could also do something like buy one of the iLoud MTM speakers and run in mono, and then add a second speaker if you want.
 
yeah if you go the Bluetooth speaker route make sure it has a wired analog input. Bluetooth has way too much latency for real time monitoring. Many of them are also summed mono output, so that's something to keep in mind too. Some allow you to pair a second speaker for true stereo output.
 
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The IK have quality issues in my experience. When I tried a pair, one of the monitors was half the volume as the other one for some reason. I would go with anything else personally. They don't sound very impressive either imo.

Like others are saying, for this use case I would go for a FRFR speaker, one of the small and powered ones on the market.
 
Yes there’s that too: for those who don’t know, Genelecs are made in Finland and they’ve been in business since 70s, and they still repair even their oldest models if there are spare parts available, which at least for their 90s models they still do. That in itself is already amazing and worth supporting compared to single use chinese plastic crap that everything in our world uses now. Genelec is a brand I’m least worried about buying used models. (Yes I’m also very biased since I have their 8351, 8361, 1032C and 7360 at home. Previously I’ve owned 7350, 8010, 8030, 8040, and 8330, which are my favorite size-wise. All bought used. Oh shit thats a long list, I’ve never thought about it this way.)

After taking two trips to the shop in my car (only one 8361 fits in the trunk), and carrying those bastards home, I feel nostalgic for the beer can sized 8010 that I could fit in my jacket pockets.

(Looking at the back panel of iLoud strongly reminds me of late 90s Logitech desktop speakers.)
 
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Here's another vote for the iLouds. I have them in my home studio next to my larger studio monitors, and I think they are amazing value for money and size.

I must say, I prefer good headphones over small monitors for guitar playing.
 
Jarick said:
May be worth trying those iLoud speakers if you want portable and don't want Genelec. I had a pair and they were okay for low volumes, didn't really wow me. But they are compact, should be durable for travel, and would be lighter weight. And they sell a travel bag which would be good. The 8010's were a slight step up but are twice the price.

Do you need stereo? You could also do something like buy one of the iLoud MTM speakers and run in mono, and then add a second speaker if you want.
Click to expand...
Jarick said:
Do you need stereo? You could also do something like buy one of the iLoud MTM speakers and run in mono, and then add a second speaker if you want.
Click to expand...
How exactly would this work? Is running one speaker a dropoff in quality of sound? Or is it just a different listening experience?
 
Jipps0525 said:
Is running one speaker a dropoff in quality of sound? Or is it just a different listening experience?
Click to expand...
I think that would depend on whether you use stereo effects in your presets. Other things like panning amps or cabs rely on stereo as well.
 
Tiny speakers are already ”bare minimum of fun”, I wouldnt go further down on the fun scale by going mono, since it doesnt save basically any space either. Unless absolutely necessary of course.
 
Jipps0525 said:
How exactly would this work? Is running one speaker a dropoff in quality of sound? Or is it just a different listening experience?
Click to expand...

Stereo is a lot of fun especially for home use, but if you are on a budget or need to save space, a single monitor is just fine. I mean that's what we used to do with amps, although at much higher volumes.
 
Jarick said:
Stereo is a lot of fun especially for home use, but if you are on a budget or need to save space, a single monitor is just fine. I mean that's what we used to do with amps, although at much higher volumes.
Click to expand...
True yeah. I have the iLoud micros which I think are cool. But if I was doing a lot of hotel traveling, one genelec 8010A speaker could be cool to try
 
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