So, I believe this review will be very useful for people who plan to use the Strymon Iridium pedal strictly at home — whether for playing through speakers, recording, or playing with headphones.
Previously, my guitar rig consisted of an Orange Terror Stamp amplifier and a 1x12 cabinet with a Celestion V30 speaker. It was a pretty solid setup that I used comfortably in my apartment for five years. However, at some point, I realized I simply couldn’t push the amp properly with my pedals — after all, I was only playing at home, and volume was always a limitation.
At the same time, I really enjoyed the dynamics and character of that analog setup. I was never interested in multi-effects processors or playing through VST plugins — everything just felt artificial and lacked expressiveness. That’s why I started looking for a good amp emulator — something that could replicate that organic feel.
Naturally, I considered options like the Strymon Iridium, Boss IR-200, and UAFX pedals. The choice quickly became clear: UAFX pedals don’t have a headphone output, and for €400, you only get one amp model. The IR-200 offers the best routing features, including send/return, but it has a lot of buttons and feels more like a processor. The Iridium, on the other hand, gives you three classic amp models, has a clean pedal-style form factor, and fits perfectly on a pedalboard.
I was very excited about the purchase and waited eagerly. But when I finally got it and tried playing through headphones for the first time, I was unpleasantly surprised — there was a loud hum or buzz. It would go away only when I touched the guitar strings, indicating a grounding issue. For a €400 device, that’s pretty disappointing. The manufacturer claims this is normal behavior, as the chain “guitar – Iridium – headphones” has no ground. When Iridium is connected to an audio interface, the noise is reduced, but not completely gone. So keep in mind: if your home has poor electrical grounding, you’ll likely encounter this issue.
The second surprise was the sound quality itself — I couldn’t get anything close to the tones I had heard in demos. Most of the built-in cabs sounded muffled, like I had cotton in my ears. Distortion and fuzz pedals sounded grainy and harsh.
Still, I didn’t give up. After some research, I came across York Audio cabinet impulse responses. Once I replaced the stock IRs with those, the Iridium transformed completely — the sound became rich and dynamic, and pedals suddenly made sense. I finally got the tones I wanted.
All parameters on the Iridium are adjustable, and yes, you can get the sound you're after — but it takes some time. You’ll need to experiment with cab IRs, tweak the EQ, and fine-tune things to your liking.
In conclusion: Iridium is a great device, but with a few caveats. It’s not perfect out of the box, but with the right IRs and some adjustments, it can deliver excellent tone even for home use.
