£510/$560/€560 pair with MEMS measurement mic, ikmultimedia.com

IK Multimedia created the iLoud Micro Monitors in 2016 as a solution for producers who need professional sound in their studio and on the move. The new Micro Monitor Pro slims down your travelling setup even further than its previous non-Pro version while also offering additional features. But are these really the right monitors for you?

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Starting with design, the Pros are slightly larger and heavier than their predecessors, yet they’re still compact for such advanced speakers, weighing just 1.4kg each. They now have an integrated power supply which accounts for some of that weight, but they each require a power cable rather than lugging around an external power supply. It would be nice, of course, if you could power the monitors via battery, but this would significantly increase the size, weight and price.

The speakers can be pole mounted using a screw thread, though you’re probably more likely to use them on a desk or table. Their compact size means you will need to either angle them at your head using their integrated fold-out foot or raise them to a level where they fire at your head while they sit flat. Being small, they remain quite directional so placement and angling are crucial considerations here. IK provides detailed guidelines in the manual on how best to achieve this.

The manual also explains how to use the Pros’ biggest new feature: self-calibration. IK devised the ARC room correction system for adjusting speakers’ output to compensate for the imperfections of any listening space, be it a pro studio or a more acoustically-problematic home studio. The idea is that you can recalibrate for any space you happen to be in, compensating for nearby reflective surfaces and resonant frequencies.

You will need a MEMS microphone — this comes as part of the pair or is available separately, for some reason. The mic connects directly to each speaker and you press and hold the new Calibrate button, having positioned the mic as the manual advises. The speaker plays test tones which the mic captures, storing the resulting calibration on the speaker. The whole process takes just a couple of minutes. This can be further refined with all settings managed using the X-Monitor app for macOS and PC. Communication with X-Monitor is handled by each speaker’s USB-C port, though these only carry this data and not audio.

Despite this software integration, the Micro Monitor Pros are still very much studio-style speakers, with the bulk of their controls first and foremost on-body and as noted, no USB audio. So on the back of each one, you’ll find a volume dial, XLR input, unbalanced RCA input (only one can be used at once) and power controls. This means you’ll need to use an audio interface to transfer audio between your computer and the Micro Monitor Pros.

Then there’s the Mode button, which cycles between EQ modes such as Desk (for use on flat surfaces), Flat response and Calibration mode. There are also high- and low-frequency adjustable filters, and an LF extension option to filter frequencies below 50 or 80 Hz if using a subwoofer.

Internally, the crossovers and other components are all DSP-controlled and there’s a Class D bi-amped design with a three-inch cellulose mid-woofer and one-inch silk dome tweeter. They’re front-ported for bass extension and easier placement in small spaces, sharing 50 watts apiece (30 to the low end and 20 to the top).

All of this, with a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, the sound these monitors produce is excellent. It’s far richer and more detailed than their compact size would lead you to believe possible, all with plenty of volume in reserve. The low end is rich and tight, the mids feel punchy and the top end sparkles — all the more so post-calibration. Correct positioning is vital, however. Their small size does make them more directional than larger models, but this is not difficult to set up.

The self-calibration is straightforward and makes a real difference to the sound in your particular space. In our home attic studio, with its partly sloped ceilings, we notice a sharpening of the mid-range with calibration on, and a slight lessening of the bass, which usually gets artificially boomy courtesy of nearby walls. Mixing decisions are made far simpler since the frequency response is no longer being affected by the room acoustics.

If you never move your setup, you’re unlikely to calibrate your system often but it’s still a valuable process in any space, from use in home studios or as secondary reference monitors in a larger space. If you do travel and mix or record in different places it’s going to get a lot more use.

USB audio transfer would make a product like this even more portable, though the counterargument is that going via an audio interface provides more flexibility for ins and outs, including headphone outputs, all of which would be sacrificed by using your computer’s main audio path just for the speakers. And since these are ‘Pro’ branded, IK would likely argue that an audio interface is a standard component of most setups anyway.

Adding internal power and the self-calibration feature makes the Micro Monitor Pros more capable and overall more portable than ever before – the extra weight of the power supply is negligible. Calibration for your home studio is valuable and welcome, while for travelling producers it’s a lifesaver.

So who are these monitors for? If you’re on a budget and never use speakers outside your home studio, you can spend less than £500 on compact speakers and still get effective sound. A pair of conventional active monitors would be a more affordable bet in this case. The MM Pros are a relatively niche proposition — while AIAIAI’s Unit 4s are also portable, adding wireless audio for their admittedly higher price of £700, they’re bigger and heavier and don’t have the calibration. They do have a battery power option, however, which the MM Pros don’t.

But for anyone who moves around, the self-calibration of the MM Pros is well worth the extra expense. Correctly positioned and set up, they’re a joy to work on. Whether you’re short on space or mixing in different places, the Micro Monitor Pros offer an awful lot of punch in a portable package.

Key features

• Bi-amped, digitally controlled speakers
• 2 drivers sharing 50W of power
• 50 Hz – 20 kHz frequency response
• Digital self-calibration using MEMS microphone
• XLR and RCA input
• On-body EQ compensation controls
• Angle with foldable foot
• Internal power supply
• Works with X-Monitor app over USB-C
• Weight: 1.4 kg each

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