iLoud Microwoofer / subwoofer idea

[audiobirdi]

Hi everyone,

I recently saw this product in the home cinema sector.

Adapting something like this design would be truly great for the iLoud subwoofer / Microwoofer to be able to get down to 20Hz in such a small form-factor:
https://uk.kef.com/products/kc62-subwoofer

The reason the above subwoofer costs so much is partially the R and D probably undertaken, as well as the factor of being built in the UK as well.

A more cost-effective version of the above would be truly remarkable for those with a home studio. IK Multimedia's design and DSP wizardry would truly work wonders for something like this.

Thanks all for for reading, especially IK thelselves!

[Doubleclick]

I think everyone who has bought and loved the Micros or the MTMs wants this!

The question is whether it's possible to produce strong LF sound in a lightweight body without the thing shaking everywhere. Also, it's not a given that the miracles IK achieved in getting big monitor sound into tiny boxes would necessarily mean a similarly tiny sub can be done (the one in your link is actually quite bulky in reality, especially when compared to an MTM).

But supposing all of that is possible, you have to think about flight restrictions. As things stand, I can get my MTMs, a pen tablet and a laptop into a carry-on bag and juuuust squeak under the 10kg limit and size requirements of most international airlines. If I had a sub as well, it would have to go in hold luggage and that's a frightening thought if you've ever seen the way airport staff have to hurl those bags from place to place in order to get everyone's stuff moved on time.

So given that only a proportion of iLoud customers would also consider buying the sub, and that even a proportion of those would ultimately be put off for the reason above, it might not be worth IK's investment to make it happen. iLoud fans are probably better off buying a good value sub like the Eris Sub8 for their home studio, and just rely on headphones for producing the deepest bass elements.

[sirenamusic]

I actually just bought a Sony home theatre 8" sub and connected it via a "Y" adapter since there's no output from the iLoud MMs, and turned the crossover to about 500Hz and so it's a subwoofer and works very well. My Uno synth sounds fantastic through it.

[Doubleclick]

Ah, nice! I'm tempted by the Temblor T10. Seems like the absolute best bang for buck, and it's built with the intention of working with monitors so it will be decently accurate.

[bekzclz11]

I need some advice and guidance from you all. I got myself a pair of IK Multimedia iLoud Micro monitors without much knowledge on the subject, they just met my space requirements and budget, plus one friend of mine owns them as well and the sound they produce is amazing. I’ve been using these monitors for casual listening via a Fiio BTR5 (awesome device btw) and they’ve been working really good. The thing is I tried to listen to Purple Noise by Boris Brejcha and I got good bass, then I tried to get them to play louder but I had to turn down the output level on the BTR5 since the monitors started to physically vibrate to the point it was clearly audible when the bassdrum kicks and got some awful bass distortion on some parts of the track, also I got the red light in the power indicator for brief moments. That being said, I would like to have some more bass in my setup, so I did a little research on how to integrate a subwoofer to a 2.0 system and I found out the Edifier T5 subwoofer could be good option, since it has stereo RCA inputs and, adjustable LPF frequency, adjustable gain, etc… I would like to get your opinion of this, if it sounds like a good idea or not to you guys, since it’s the first time I get my hands on a sound system of this grade.

[Doubleclick]

I need some advice and guidance from you all. I got myself a pair of IK Multimedia iLoud Micro monitors without much knowledge on the subject, they just met my space requirements and budget, plus one friend of mine owns them as well and the sound they produce is amazing. I’ve been using these monitors for casual listening via a Fiio BTR5 (awesome device btw) and they’ve been working really good. The thing is I tried to listen to Purple Noise by Boris Brejcha and I got good bass, then I tried to get them to play louder but I had to turn down the output level on the BTR5 since the monitors started to physically vibrate to the point it was clearly audible when the bassdrum kicks and got some awful bass distortion on some parts of the track, also I got the red light in the power indicator for brief moments. That being said, I would like to have some more bass in my setup, so I did a little research on how to integrate a subwoofer to a 2.0 system and I found out the Edifier T5 subwoofer could be good option, since it has stereo RCA inputs and, adjustable LPF frequency, adjustable gain, etc… I would like to get your opinion of this, if it sounds like a good idea or not to you guys, since it’s the first time I get my hands on a sound system of this grade.

Yes.

I used to have the Micro Monitors and the vibration is definitely a problem at higher volumes. The MTMs are much better on that score, and also go lower (advertised at 40Hz, but my pair actually go a good few Hz lower than that with just as strong a signal before the level rolls off).

A subwoofer will definitely help, and as far as I can see from reviews the Edifier T5 seems to be really good! I'm producing music, so my needs are different. I want the lowest extension I can get for the money and I want a sub built for critical production to match the aim of all my other amplification, hence why I'd look at the Temblor T10, but your options are much broader if you want a nice listening experience. The T5 seems to achieve the correct phase around the split, which is the main issue with any sub beyond how it sounds. Looks great for the price.

There's one thing that would make me nervous if I were you -- I see some owners reporting a problem that I've seen in various companies' subwoofers where the auto-standby switching flicks on and off inconveniently, and in the case of the T5 auto-standby is all you get; you can't force it On at all times. This is something that might be a rare issue, or it might have been fixed since the problem was first reported (the complaints I'm seeing are on forum pages from a couple of years ago), so I'd recommend looking into that.

I can say that if you want an 8" rather than a 10", I've never heard a bad word about the Presonus Eris 8. It's a bit more expensive at £155 in the UK, but if you want absolute peace of mind about build quality then it's definitely worth considering. Goes down to 30Hz with strength to a very sudden roll-off at 30Hz, but that's as good as you'll get with an 8" sub and in this price range. Most people would consider that to be plenty for enjoying music and movies (below 30Hz is more of a concern for music producers, to make sure they don't fail to control stray bass that could be a problem in club systems later).