{"id":490342,"date":"2026-06-09T09:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/490342\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T09:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:06:10","slug":"ik-multimedia-tonex-plug-review-coming-for-the-headphone-amp-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/490342\/","title":{"rendered":"IK Multimedia TONEX Plug review \u2013 coming for the headphone amp crown?"},"content":{"rendered":"

$149\/\u00a3139, ikmultimedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

As a guitarist, few experiences transcend that of plugging in to a big, heavy tube amp<\/a> and cranking that thing to 10. But in reality, this is not always possible \u2013 or appropriate. There are times when you want to practice long after noise levels are generally curtailed \u2013 and moments when you want something portable you can just plug into and play \u2013 so a headphone amp is an important piece of kit to have in your repertoire.<\/p>\n

IK Multimedia TONEX Plug \u2013 what is it?<\/p>\n

The TONEX Plug from IK Multimedia<\/a> is an intriguing entry to the category, and competes with already-loved devices like the Boss<\/a> Katana GO<\/a> and Fender<\/a> Mustang Micro Plus<\/a> with tonnes of amp<\/a> and effects<\/a> emulations, Bluetooth audio streaming, plenty of preset storage and a well-designed free companion app, TONEX Control, offering granular control over your tone patches.<\/p>\n

\"IKImage: PressIK Multimedia TONEX Plug \u2013 build quality and user experience<\/p>\n

Props must be given to IK Multimedia for the design of the TONEX Control app. It\u2019s quick and snappy, and responds to input pretty much instantaneously. In a technologically advanced world, even the slightest degree of lag can be hugely frustrating, so it\u2019s nice to see this isn\u2019t a problem at all with TONEX Control.<\/p>\n

Navigating the app is equally straightforward. Simply select a preset, and it\u2019ll load up a full signal chain complete with an amp and effects, all with fully adjustable parameters. Again, the responsiveness of the app is what really wins points here, as there\u2019s no lag whatsoever between app input and what you actually hear in your headphones.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also got access to the IK Multimedia ToneNET platform, where users upload their own tone creations to the cloud. So you\u2019ve basically got an ever-expanding range of tone profiles at your disposal from within the TONEX Control app.<\/p>\n

Bear in mind, though, that you don\u2019t need to use the companion app. You can cycle through presets using just the TONEX Plug, your guitar and a pair of headphones; using the app just offers control over the many parameters of your tone.<\/p>\n

In terms of the build quality of the actual TONEX Plug device, it\u2019s lightweight at just 70g \u2013 carry it in your gigbag and you won\u2019t even know it\u2019s there \u2013 but still manages to feel premium thanks to its sleek design, subtle aesthetic touches and sturdy side buttons.<\/p>\n

My only flag to raise here is the swivel of the input jack. It could do with being slightly stiffer, as it\u2019s prone to moving around with accidental tugs of your headphone cable, which are common if you\u2019ve got a longer lead that drags on the floor.<\/p>\n

\"IKImage: PressIK Multimedia TONEX Plug \u2013 sounds<\/p>\n

The most important thing about any headphone guitar amp is how it sounds, and the TONEX Plug serves up an impressively professional range of tones that rival any category-leading amp plugin or practice amp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a certain mental sacrifice that goes on in the brain when dealing with headphone amps: \u201cIt\u2019s not a \u2018real amp\u2019, so I\u2019m prepared for the tones to not be as good.\u201d But that\u2019s not the case with the TONEX Plug. Once you get stuck in, you don\u2019t wish you were playing through a real practice amp instead. If anything, this might even become your go-to practice solution.<\/p>\n

The range of amp models on offer is impressive; I\u2019m particularly admiring of the digital tube amp emulations, which have an authentic responsiveness, courtesy of IK\u2019s AI<\/a> Machine Modelling technology. Not too shabby for a 150 bucks of headphone amp.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also got onboard EQ, gate, compressor, delay<\/a>, reverb<\/a> and modulation<\/a> effects which you can add or subtract from your signal chain at will. It\u2019s all very intuitive and easy to use, so big points here.<\/p>\n

IK Multimedia TONEX Plug \u2013 should I buy one?<\/p>\n

As guitarists we don\u2019t always want to plug into a tube amp and crank it to 11. And your neighbours or roommates definitely don\u2019t want you to. The TONEX Plug is a terrific option for quiet practice, loaded with thousands of top-quality presets that are fully tweakable via the TONEX Control app. So if you want to continue practicing guitar outside of curfew hours without sacrificing great tone, this little device is just the ticket.<\/p>\n

You might also be looking for a practice solution that doesn\u2019t involve a huge degree of setup. I\u2019m a huge fan of in-the-box guitar playing \u2013 playing through plugins within a DAW. The only problem is that it involves switching on your computer, plugging in your audio interface, loading up your DAW and so on. Basically, it\u2019s a lot of work if you just want to practice right away. The TONEX Plug is a great idea in this regard, as you just need the device, a pair of headphones, your guitar, your smartphone on the coffee table and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n

IK Multimedia TONEX Plug \u2013 alternatives<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some stiff competition in the guitar headphone amp market, and conveniently for you, the consumer, there are a number of great options at similar price points. The Fender Mustang Micro is probably the king in this category, which we rated a strong 9\/10 in our review<\/a>. You\u2019ve also got the Boss Katana GO, which is priced around the \u00a3100 mark, and earned a cool 8\/10 in our review, in which we debated whether it was the \u201cperfect headphone amp\u201d<\/a>. The Positive Grid<\/a> Spark NEO<\/a> is an interesting over-ear take on the headphone amp that sounds truly fantastic, while if you want something that you can actually hear in the room, the Blackstar<\/a> Beam Mini<\/a> might be the new king of practice solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"$149\/\u00a3139, ikmultimedia.com As a guitarist, few experiences transcend that of plugging in to a big, heavy tube amp…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-490342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}