How to Connect Studio Monitors? (Step-by-Step Guide)

Don’t know how to connect the studio monitors you bought (or plan to buy)?

It’s true that when you’re starting out, it’s not necessarily obvious: there are often different connections, and you still need to have the right cable, otherwise it won’t work optimally.

But no worries, in this article, I will give you all the information you need to perfectly connect your monitors in your home studio.

Step 1: Identify the Connections to Use

The very first thing to do before connecting anything is to identify the connections you will use on both the studio monitors and the audio interface.

(By the way, yes, if it wasn’t clear to you, you absolutely need an audio interface like this one to connect this type of monitor to your computer. If you don’t have one, you can check my recommendations here.)

On the Audio Interface Side

On your audio interface, you will need to use two outputs called “line outputs,” often indicated by the term “line out” in English.

These are the ones used to send the signal to the monitors.

Generally, these are standard outputs located at the back of the device.

In 99% of cases, these outputs are in 6.35 mm jack format — the good old “big jack” often found in studios — but they can also be XLR.

Typically, you select outputs 1 and 2 of the interface, as shown in the image below:

Note: these outputs are always mono outputs. Therefore, to send sound to both the left and right speakers, you must use two outputs.

On the Studio Monitors Side

If we now look at the monitors, it depends a bit on the model.

Generally, you may encounter three types of inputs:

• RCA
• XLR
• Jack

First of all, I recommend forgetting about RCA unless you really have no choice.

Simply because it is an unbalanced connection, making it more susceptible to interference and noise, especially if you are using somewhat long cables.

Whereas XLR and Jack connections on studio monitors are always balanced… and equivalent: it’s up to you to choose whether you prefer to use an XLR cable or a jack cable. It’s really 100% the same, only the shape of the connector changes.

👉 If you want to know more about this balanced/unbalanced topic, check out my complete guide on cables.

Step 2: Choose the right cable to connect your speakers

To summarize what we’ve just seen, we now need a cable to connect:

• jack or XLR outputs on the interface
• to jack or XLR inputs on the speakers.

So you will need, depending on the configuration you noted in the previous step:

• either an XLR <=> XLR cable;
• or an XLR <=> Jack cable;
• or a Jack <=> Jack cable.

For the XLR aspect, there is no specificity; all XLRs are similar.

However, for the jack side, it is important to make sure to take a 3-segment jack cable. This is called a TRS jack (Tip / Ring / Sleeve), as shown on the right in the photo below:

And there, you will be able to connect your monitoring speakers to your audio interface, and everything will work perfectly.

By the way, here are my recommendations for budget-friendly yet good quality cables, suitable for the three configurations:

(make sure to check the male/female aspects of the cables, as well as the lengths)

It’s time to connect the speakers

OK, we’ve identified the right connections, we’ve chosen the right cables… now, all that’s left is to plug them in.

So yes, I might be stating the obvious here — but believe me, it’s often at this moment that the mishaps happen (like a big pop in the speakers because we turned them on in the wrong order…).

Here’s the procedure to follow for a clean connection, without risk to your gear:

1. Turn everything off. Yes, everything. The audio interface, the speakers, and the rest if needed. We start on a healthy basis.
2. Connect the audio cables between the line outputs of your interface and the inputs of your speakers. (Make sure to respect the stereo: output 1 = left speaker, output 2 = right speaker)
3. Check the connections: are you using TRS or XLR jacks, not RCA? Perfect. Are your cables well plugged in?
4. Connect the power supplies of your monitoring speakers, if not already done.
5. Turn on the equipment in order: first the audio interface, then the speakers.

Note: Why this order? Because by turning on the speakers last, you avoid unwanted noise or other unpleasant pops in your speakers.

If you forget, it’s not the end of the world: there are protections in the speakers and generally everything will go well. But it can still damage your speakers, so it’s better not to take the risk!

FAQ on connecting monitoring speakers

To go further, here are some answers to the most common questions about connecting monitoring speakers in a studio / home studio.

Can I connect my speakers directly to my PC?

No.

Monitoring speakers are not meant to be connected directly to a computer, at least not in 99% of cases.

Why? Because they expect a symmetric line level signal, while the headphone or mini-jack output of your PC is:

• of headphone level, thus unsuitable in volume and impedance;
• asymmetric, thus sensitive to interference (buzz, noise…);
• and stereo (so you would need an adapter).

In theory, it could work, but I really advise against it; it’s not designed for that at all.

What if I have a subwoofer?

Good question! If you’re using a subwoofer with your monitoring speakers, the logic changes a bit.

Generally, you will connect your interface outputs to the subwoofer, then from the sub to the speakers.
The sub acts as a sort of relay, with a filter that (sometimes) sends only the mid/high frequencies to the speakers, keeping the bass for itself.

But be careful, there are some subtleties depending on the models and settings to make it integrate well into your setup.

👉 To learn everything about this, I invite you to read my complete guide on subwoofers.

In conclusion

There you go, you now have all the tools to connect your monitoring speakers.

👉 If you haven’t chosen your speakers yet, don’t forget to check out my recommendations.