Recommend me a pair of powered monitors for my Axe-Fx

Thanks for all the advice, folks. It gave me plenty of options to consider.

I've decided on the iLoud Micro Monitors.

I'll probably upgrade to something better in the future, but for the moment, weight and size are going to be the biggest factors.
I'm working abroad and will be moving back home in the near future and I've already got enough heavy things to ship home as it is.
 
jdarez said:
Thanks for all the advice, folks. It gave me plenty of options to consider.

I've decided on the iLoud Micro Monitors.

I'll probably upgrade to something better in the future, but for the moment, weight and size are going to be the biggest factors.
I'm working abroad and will be moving back home in the near future and I've already got enough heavy things to ship home as it is.
Click to expand...
I have had mine for a month now. I am really liking them. I am considering a subwoofer though. The adam sub 7 might be just what I need to take off some bass/low end from the speakers.

I think if a good sub is added to them, there should be no need to "upgrade". They are not cheapo monitors.

Just need to realize any smaller speaker without a sub is not going to completely accurately reproduce bass freqs. For what it is, by itself, it is damn impressive. If you want the bass response of say bigger 8+ monitors, just add a sub.

Even a pair of Adam A7Xs isn't going to have the best bass response by themselves.

I have the iloud MTM btw. Not the even smaller micro ones IK makes. Personally I'd recommend the MTM. They are still extremely portable/small.

Edit : I've been looking at the Adam sub 7 because it is also quite small and portable. Also happens to match the ilouds visually almost exactly! Haha. Because we guitar players care about that stuff.
 
I have the iLoud Micro’s, they’re good for checking mix translation on computer speakers and ear buds, as most computer speakers and ear buds can’t handle much low end, and use porting to approximate bass extension. I tried monitoring my Axe 2 through the iLoud’s but if I wasn’t careful palm mutes on my 7 string would clip them at very low volumes. There’s a reason Yamaha NS10’s were a standard for so long and are not ported. IMHO, ported designs tend to interact poorly with any room which is not thoroughly treated.

Hence this piece of basic advice: unless you have a very well treated room, buy the most expensive infinite baffle monitors you can afford. I broke my bank buying Neumann KH310’s but no regrets after finally paying them off. They sound very similar in my living room, which is mildly treated, and in the control room of my preferred studio, which is heavily treated.

Given how many mixes are done on smaller portable speakers these days, people ought to pay more attention to how those speakers function from one room to another. It can be very instructive as to the importance of room acoustics in reference monitoring...
 
jdarez said:
Thanks for all the advice, folks. It gave me plenty of options to consider.

I've decided on the iLoud Micro Monitors.

I'll probably upgrade to something better in the future, but for the moment, weight and size are going to be the biggest factors.
I'm working abroad and will be moving back home in the near future and I've already got enough heavy things to ship home as it is.
Click to expand...
how are you liking them so far?
 
Jipps0525 said:
how are you liking them so far?
Click to expand...
The little guys really do pack a punch, I rarely get the chance to crank them beyond practice volume since my wife goes into panic mode whenever she believes the neighbours will complain (we live in an apartment with thin walls, they haven't complained yet).

Pros
  • They're small and perfect for limited space or a travelling musician.
  • They're light, this helps big time for shipping/luggage weight.
  • No complaints on the sound quality and it's versatile enough for my keyboard, PC, bass and guitar though. Since it's so small, it does seem like they tried to overcompensate the lack of bass and it ends up being a little too bassy for mixing, but you can certainly adjust the eq at the back.

Cons
  • No 1/4 inch to dual RCA cables included.
  • Power switch at the back, this might be an AXE FX issue as I was sure that plugging something into the headphone jack bypassed other outputs (automatically turned them off). When my headphones are plugged into the AXE's headphone jack, the speakers still output sound. Maybe I should change outputs.
  • They give new definition to 'nearfield'. It really matters where you position these monitors, the sound changes dramatically as you move around. Even though they've got mini stands to prop them up I recommend mounting stands to get them up to head level.

Conclusion, they're perfect for my needs which are a small, light and affordable set of monitors for practice, mixing and PC.
 
jdarez said:
The little guys really do pack a punch, I rarely get the chance to crank them beyond practice volume since my wife goes into panic mode whenever she believes the neighbours will complain (we live in an apartment with thin walls, they haven't complained yet).

Pros
  • They're small and perfect for limited space or a travelling musician.
  • They're light, this helps big time for shipping/luggage weight.
  • No complaints on the sound quality and it's versatile enough for my keyboard, PC, bass and guitar though. Since it's so small, it does seem like they tried to overcompensate the lack of bass and it ends up being a little too bassy for mixing, but you can certainly adjust the eq at the back.

Cons
  • No 1/4 inch to dual RCA cables included.
  • Power switch at the back, this might be an AXE FX issue as I was sure that plugging something into the headphone jack bypassed other outputs (automatically turned them off). When my headphones are plugged into the AXE's headphone jack, the speakers still output sound. Maybe I should change outputs.
  • They give new definition to 'nearfield'. It really matters where you position these monitors, the sound changes dramatically as you move around. Even though they've got mini stands to prop them up I recommend mounting stands to get them up to head level.

Conclusion, they're perfect for my needs which are a small, light and affordable set of monitors for practice, mixing and PC.
Click to expand...
Thanks for for the insightful response. Did you ever consider the iLoud Micro MTMs before purchasing the micro pair?
 
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