Due to echo and the basic acoustics of the room or auditorium, performers occasionally fail to hear the actual sound of the main audio speakers when on stage.
Speaker or stage monitors resolve this issue by connecting to the same sound mixer as the audience speakers, allowing the singer and other band members to monitor volume levels throughout the performance.
You can connect the cable’s other end to the amplifier. If you’re using powered speakers, you may skip this step. The majority of amplifiers feature two channels. The number of mixes determines the required number of channels.
What Is a Monitor Speaker?
It is a collection of performer-facing loudspeakers referred to as stage monitors, studio monitors, floor monitors, wedges, or foldbacks used on stage during live music performances to magnify the commission for the audience. The monitor system enables musicians to hear themselves and their bandmates.
Types of Monitor Speaker
There are two types of speaker monitors:
Active Monitor Speakers
Active monitor speakers incorporate the amplifier into the speaker shell, eliminating the need for an external power amplifier. They frequently include connectors for balanced cables, which simplifies the process. All you have to do is connect active monitors to one of the mixer’s aux or bus outputs using an XLR or TRS wire.
Passive Monitor Speakers
Passive monitor speakers rely on an external power amplifier to transmit the signal. Additionally, a balanced wire is needed to connect the mixer to the power amp. However, depending on the connectors on the power amp and speakers, you’ll need a SpeakON, TS, or speaker wire.
About Mixer?
Mixers are often used in different ways, but all have the same goal: to receive and output.
How Do Mixers Function?
Before we connect everything and power on your new mixer, let’s have a look at how mixers function. Every mixer, in essence, performs the same function: it combines input signals from microphones or devices and sends them to output jacks attached to loudspeakers.
What distinguishes one mixer from another is its navigation and any additional features or I/O. (USB recording, routing, wireless control, etc.).
Essential Points to Know Before Connecting Monitor Speakers to Mixer
Before we begin connecting the Mixer to the studio or speakers monitors, there are a few points to cover that will assist you in understanding the Connection of Monitor Speakers to the Mixer.
Routing of an Audio Mixer
To get your monitors to work correctly, you’ll need to make a few adjustments to your mixer.
- Connect a source of audio
- Unmute the channel
- Increase the channel’s volume
- Unmute/reactivate the primary output.
- Increase the volume of the main stereo output.
- The monitor output is often post-fade, which means the primary stereo channel will influence it.
- Increase the volume on the primary display.
Important Note: This is occasionally associated with the headphone output level.
Buttons for PFL & Solo
The Solo or PFL buttons considerably affect the signal sent to your studio monitors on an audio mixer. By default, with all PFL buttons pressed, you’ll hear a duplicate of the whole stereo mix over your monitor speakers.
However, if one or more PFL buttons press, you will display only those channels in your studio monitors. While some mixers offer more advanced routing choices, this is the default behavior.
Cables: Balanced vs. Unbalanced
At first glance, all 1/4′′ cable connectors may appear to be identical. If you look closely, you’ll find that some connectors have a single ring, while others have two. TS (1 ring) and TRS (2 rings) connectors.
Unbalanced Tip Sleeve (TS) cables
- They are also known as Instrument Cables
- Transports a single version of the audio signal.
- Susceptible to noise, interference, and static pickup
- A maximum cable run of 15 feet advise.
Balanced Tip Ring Sleeve (TRS )cables
- Contains two identical audio signal versions (one is phase inverted)
- At the destination, audio streams compare to eliminate noise.
- Cable runs of 600 feet and longer are possible without sacrificing audio quality.
We will demonstrate two balanced and two unbalanced connections between an audio mixer and studio or speaker monitors. If your equipment and money permit, we always recommend balanced cables.
Methods to connect speaker monitor to the mixer
By Using 1/4′′ TRS Balanced Cable
- Monitor outputs on the mixer > Balanced 1/4″ TRS wires > 1/4″ speaker inputs
- Link the left monitor output to the input on the left speaker and the right monitor output to the right speaker’s input.
- This straightforward technique creates a balanced connection that rejects noise and transmits a clear signal to your speakers across a wider distance than you’d usually require.
By Using Unbalanced 1/4′′ TS To RCA Cable
- Monitor outputs on the mixer > Unbalanced 1/4″ TS to RCA wire > RCA inputs on the speakers
- RCA inputs are not always available on older or more basic studio monitors. In this case, your alternatives reduce, and you will force to use an imbalanced connection.
- A dual 1/4′′ TS to RCA cable is needed to configure your mixer to a studio monitor with RCA inputs. The 1/4′′ connections connect to your mixer’s monitor outs (black left and red right). The RCA connectors attach to the mixer’s inputs (black left and red right).
- On some speakers, both RCA inputs locate on the same speaker. The second speaker connects to the first through a speaker wire, serving as the audio signal path.
Unbalanced 1/4′′ TS Cable
- Monitor outputs from the mixer > Unbalanced 1/4″ TS wires > 1/4″ speaker inputs
- If you’re on a budget, you can connect studio monitors to your audio mixer with unbalanced 1/4′′ TS cables.
- The connecting procedure is similar to a balanced 1/4 TS cable, and it should work just as well as these cables as long as the cable run is less than 15′.
- Having said that, if you detect any static, flickering, or interference, it’s most likely due to the cable. You can fix the issue by upgrading to balanced cables.
Balanced 1/4′′ TRS To XLR Cable
- Monitor outputs on the mixer > Balanced 1/4″ TRS to XLR cables > XLR speaker inputs
- Additionally, this method establishes a balanced connection, with no degradation in quality compared to using a standard TRS cable.
- This method is helpful if your speakers have only XLR inputs. If the speaker has both inputs, we’d recommend using a standard 1/4′′ connection because the cables are more easily accessible.
- It’s worth mentioning that you can increase your wire run if necessary by adding additional XLR cables.
How Do You Connect the Speaker Monitors to Mixers by using AUX cable?
Plug AUX Cable Into Sound Mixer
- Connect an AUX cable to the sound mixer’s AUX outputs. AUX connectors often require quarter-inch plugs. The AUX channels on the excellent board are independent of the central mix and allow you to blend the sounds to suit the band’s demands. The number of auxiliary channels required varies according to distinct mixes. Generally, you’ll need at least two, as vocalists will require a different blend than instrumentalists.
Insert the Other End Into Your Amp
- Connect the cable’s other end to the amplifier. If you’re using powered speakers, you may skip this step. The majority of amplifiers feature two channels. The number of mixes determines the required number of channels. If you have passive monitor speakers, carefully insert the cord into the amp. If you are utilizing powered displays, skip this step.
Run a Monitor Speaker Line From Your Amp
- Connect the amplifier to the speaker via a line. Depending on the speaker, an XLR plug, a quarter-inch plug, or an easy-lock connector may be required. Maintain consistency with the amplifier’s or sound mixer’s output, which should be a quarter-inch plug or an easy-lock connector.
Test the Amplifier and Monitor Speakers
- Conduct testing on the amplifier and speakers. Utilize the appropriate AUX dial for each input to combine the various channels. You’ll need to configure each AUX line for each piece of information so that the mix configures according to the vocalists’ and instrumentalists’ preferences.
FAQs – How to Connect Monitor Speakers to Mixer?
How Do You Use a Passive Speaker With a Mixer?
To activate a passive system, turn on the mixer first, followed by the power amp — to pack down, the order reverse; turn off the power amp first, followed by the mixer. It avoids any harm to the amplifier or speakers, as with an active system.
How Do Monitor Speakers Work?
Monitor speaker designs to have a flat frequency response to replicate the audio signal properly within the speaker’s economic limits. As a producer, you need to hear what you’re mixing correctly and without the speaker imparting its color to the sound.
What Is Monitor Out on Mixer?
Mixers can output many independent audio channels depending on the event’s requirements, such as sending audio intended for the audience. To the leading speakers and audio intended for the performers to the stage monitor speakers: STEREO OUT use to deliver signals to the audience; AUX SEND generally sends alerts to the performers’ monitors.
Conclusion
Studio monitors are a need for anyone interested in music or audio production. Just like a physician uses a stethoscope to check your body’s problems based on the sounds of your heart, producers utilize studio monitors to determine whether a track’s sound quality is sufficient or not. In the audio recording, mixing, and mastering, speaker monitors, are critical.
As a result, I hope that after reading this article, you will have all of the answers to your questions about How you Connect your Monitor Speakers to the Mixer.
These speaker monitors deliver crisp, precise, and dynamic sound mixing, allowing you to pinpoint and solve any audio quality issues.
They are consistent compared to regular speakers, making them the most outstanding alternative for producing high-quality sound.
