IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor Pro Review

By Nate [KVR] on January 28th, 2025

IK Multimedia's iLoud Micro Monitor series has become an extremely popular choice for musicians and producers looking for a compact, affordable and travel friendly monitoring solution. These tiny speakers have always packed a punch, delivering surprisingly accurate sound with a range of features that make them a versatile option for a variety of applications. With their newest addition to the iLoud family, the iLoud Micro Monitor Pros have upped the ante, offering some incredible performance in a tiny, well constructed form factor, along with pro features such as the built in room correction system based on IK’s ARC4 software.

First Impressions

The iLoud Micro Monitor Pro comes in a sleek, compact package. The speakers are small and relatively lightweight, making them transportable and easy to place in any studio or home recording space. Despite the mostly plastic chassis, the build quality is impressive, with a sturdy enclosure and adjustable feet designed to angle the monitor up at the user when placed on a desktop.

From an audio performance perspective, the soundstage is remarkably detailed. Obviously the system lacks the serious low end achievable on much larger monitors, but it still manages to push out a respectable amount of punchy low end down to 50hz in this tiny form factor. Furthermore, the detail in the highs and mids are very impressive, with the mids in particular exuding detail and depth. Transients are super fast and detailed. More surprising, is the volume levels that are achievable considering the small size. For more permanent setups, the addition of a sub would make for a fantastic monitoring system, with the iLoud Micro Pros also catering for this by providing dedicated high pass filters switchable from 50hz to 80hz, to offload the low end to a dedicated speaker. IK also offers an eleven speaker bundle for those looking explore immersive audio setups on a budget.

Take Control, Get Connected

Connectivity on the back is plentiful with a XLR (doubling up as the ARC Mic input) and RCA input on hand, along with USB-C and power input. The Bluetooth connectivity is gone however, as is the shared input and power from the original iLoud Micro Monitors. The monitors are designed to be self contained, making it possible to combine them into something like an atmos setup which makes a lot of sense, however it does somewhat diminish their portability though. You’ll need to have a power supply for each, plus an audio connection for each and, if you’re wanting to leverage the included X-Monitor software to its fullest potential, a USB-C cable for each speaker as well. This complicates traveling with these somewhat, and for applications such casual music listening or use as a small mobile DJ setup, you do end up with a huge mess of cables that could have been potentially avoided by including some sort of wireless connectivity. There isn't any way to connect mobile devices either, so you are pretty much stuck with carrying an audio interface with you or alternatively, one could opt for an external Bluetooth Receiver.  This criticism is slightly unfair since they are marketed as a ‘Pro’ variant and are very much intended to be used as a studio monitor more than a casual portable speaker though, so the design decisions do make sense. If you’re specifically looking for an ultra portable setup for more general use with minimal fuss when it comes to plugging in, you may want to stick with the original iLouds. 

Each monitor has a dedicated volume control with a notched centrepoint delineating the ideal gain for the speaker, and allowing for a 6db gain boost or reduction all the way down to silence. A quick ‘mode’ control allows for quickly switching the monitor from calibrated state, to a desktop mode. Holding the ‘mode’ button will also put the speaker into calibration mode (more on that in a bit). Also available is a pair of easy high and low frequency adjustment controls, and the aforementioned high pass for operation with a sub.

Calibration and X-Monitor

The included room calibration technology is a welcome feature for anyone in a less than ideal room or for someone who may be setting up a temporary mobile studio between different venues. A simplified calibration can be initiated by holding the mode button, without the need to dive into the included x-monitor software. Simply connect the included ARC measurement mic via an XLR cable to the XLR output on the back of the speaker. You can also opt to do a 4 point measurement from within X-Monitor itself. The process is relatively painless, taking roughly five to ten minutes to complete, and we achieved consistently good results on a few rounds of testing, resulting in marked improvements in playback.

X-monitor throws in a few additional useful features too. Speaker settings can be linked and there are options to manually adjust delay times, useful for when incorporating into a larger multi-speaker or immersive setup. The voice dropdown menu, whereby you can load impulse responses from other speakers provided with the software by IK, is a great addition too. The ‘White 80’s’ preset for example allows you to emulate the response of a particular well know model of speakers on the iLouds. It is a useful tool for quickly checking your mix on a number of speakers and/or scenarios such as a smart phone and TV speakers, hifi gear and a selection of studio monitors, particularly since the Micro Pros fill the role of a pair of secondary ‘mix checking’ monitors exceptionally well.

Conclusions

The iLoud Micro Monitor Pro delivers impressive sound quality for its size. The bass is surprisingly well translated and punchy, the mids are clear and articulate, and the highs are crisp and detailed. Despite the size and appearance, most producers should be more than comfortable mixing on these. For users looking for a professional monitoring solution on a budget, looking to integrate a mobile studio into different environments with perhaps less than ideal dimensions and acoustic properties, or as a secondary pair of references monitors, the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Pros are hard to beat. The lack of bluetooth is a shame as personally, I would have carried these literally everywhere with me, for both studio use and general music listening, if I didn’t need to drag along a nest of cables. As a studio monitor though, the Micro Monitor Pros are stellar pieces of kit. They make a fantastic addition to IK’s monitor line-up and are possibly some of the best sounding speakers available in this segment and price point right now.

Tech Specs

• Equipped with: 3" woofer/midrange driver with bass reflex system and 1" tweeter
• Class D amplifier
• LF amplifier power: 30 W RMS
• HF amplifier power: 20 W RMS
• Linear-phase crossover at 2,500 Hz
• Frequency range: 50 - 20,000 Hz (± 2 dB)
• Filter settings: High Shelf (+2/-3 dB @8 kHz), Low Shelf (+2/-3 dB @100 Hz), Desktop (-3 dB @250 Hz and +4 dB @ 1.2 kHz) and LF Extension (-3 dB at 50 or 80 Hz)
• Fully automatic integrated digital calibration via supplied measurement microphone
• Completely DSP-controlled
• Compatible with X-Monitor software
• Inputs: 1x XLR, 1x RCA
• USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 208 x 153 x 105 mm
• Weight per monitor: 1.37 kg
• Includes power cable, USB cable and ARC measuring microphone

Pricing and Availability

The entire iLoud range is available at both Sweetwater and Thomann.

• iLoud Micro Monitor Pro (Pair): $559.99 / €502,52 per pair.
• iLoud Micro Monitor Pro (Sold separately): $279.99.

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