Toggle Three Monitors: A Guide For Recording Studios

Setting up multiple monitors in a recording studio is a great way to improve your workflow and get a better sense of how your music will sound outside of the studio. The ideal setup for a recording studio is to have two sets of speakers: your main near-field monitors and a set of small, inexpensive desktop computer speakers (mini-monitors). This setup will let you hear how most listeners will hear your music, on a cheap home stereo system, television, or computer speakers, rather than the precise and accurate sound of your studio reference monitors.

A second monitor can also be useful in the recording studio for practical reasons, such as saving you from having to tab between your recording and mix windows, and giving you more screen space to open up your plugins.

However, setting up multiple monitors in a recording studio can be challenging. One issue is that most audio interfaces only have one set of monitor outputs. This can be solved by adding an analog monitor control box, such as the PreSonus Monitor Station or the Mackie Big Knob, which will allow you to switch between monitors without losing your sweet spot. Another challenge is positioning the monitors correctly. The ideal setup is to have your speakers upright and level with your head, forming an equilateral triangle with your head and the two speakers when you are seated in the sweet spot. It's also important to make sure the speakers are not too close to any walls, as this can affect the low-frequency response.

Overall, adding a second or even third monitor to your recording studio can be a great way to improve your workflow and get a better sense of how your music will sound to your listeners.

Using an analog monitor control box

To toggle three monitors in a recording studio, one option is to use an analog monitor control box. This is a useful solution if your audio interface only has one set of monitor outputs, as is often the case. The stereo mix from your audio interface's monitor output is connected to the analog monitor control box, which then splits the signal into several output paths, allowing you to send the signal to multiple monitor destinations, including headphones.

Two popular analog monitor control boxes are the PreSonus Monitor Station and the Mackie Big Knob, which are both priced at around $300. These units are designed to sit on your desktop and provide ergonomic control over your monitors, allowing you to easily switch between them while mixing without losing your optimal listening position.

The PreSonus Monitor Station offers input and output routing, four headphone outputs with individual level controls, source selection, and a talkback mic. The Mackie Big Knob features two selectable stereo inputs, two selectable stereo outputs, and mono/mute/dim buttons.

When choosing an analog monitor control box, consider the number and type of inputs and outputs you require, as well as any additional features such as headphone outputs, level controls, and talkback functionality.

By using an analog monitor control box, you can easily toggle between three monitors in your recording studio and make adjustments to your mix without disrupting your workflow.

Speaker placement

The ideal speaker setup is an equilateral triangle formed with the listening position. However, if you have a second pair of monitors in the same studio space, it becomes impossible to create two equilateral triangles. One of the two pairs has to sit a little wider/narrower than the ideal equilateral.

The high-frequency driver of your speakers should be at the same height as your ears. They should be angled at about 30 to 45 degrees towards your listening position and there should be an even distance between each speaker and where you sit.

Make sure your monitors are placed around 8 to 12 inches away from any walls and corners. This will help prevent reflections from your front walls.

Consider your two speakers as two points of a triangle, with your head being the third. Ideally, you want the distance between your pair of monitors to be equal to how far back your head is from them – on all sides.

If your setup is intended primarily for making music, you should place it in the front area of the room based on its division into three areas of equal sizes. Your listening position should be centred relative to the wall it faces and your monitors should be equidistant from the walls to their side and back, though with different distances between those two. If your room is rectangular, you should prioritise one of the long walls as the one your listening position will be centred against to help minimise potential reflections from the side walls.

Every solid surface in your space constitutes a potential boundary against which sound will reflect, to varying degrees, which can cause phase cancellations and other unwanted acoustic interactions. Therefore, your monitors should not be placed against the walls, and especially against corners, as this will create issues in the lower end of the spectrum.

As a rule of thumb for near-field monitors, which perform best up to around 2.5 m from your listening position, you want to consider a minimum distance of 20 to 30 cm between the monitors and walls, which is generally enough to reduce sound waves reflecting back to your listening position, and a maximum distance of between 60 and 90 cm.

Once you’ve figured out the best place in the room for your setup and appropriate distances between the monitors and walls, you will want to finalise the positioning of the listener and monitors, aka the sweet spot, by bearing in mind that each of these is best located at the three points of an equilateral triangle.

The monitors should never face out directly but rather be turned towards the listening position at an angle of around 30 degrees in order to align with the ears of the listener.

Choosing the right speakers

You can add a subwoofer to augment monitors with small woofers, but for most music production applications, having the bass in your face is preferable to having it under your seat or to the side of your workspace. For minimonitors, a 3- to 4-inch woofer is ideal, such as the Alesis M1 Active 320 or Avantone Pro Active MixCubes.

Studio monitors differ from regular speakers due to their flat frequency response, making them more accurate for reproducing sound. Most of them have two loudspeakers (a two-way design): a woofer for low frequencies and a tweeter for high frequencies. High-end models host a supplementary loudspeaker (a three-way design), dedicated to medium frequencies.

There are active and passive monitors. Active monitors have built-in amplifiers and are simpler to use, while passive monitors require external amplifiers, offering more flexibility. Amplifier configurations matter: single-amp is the most common setup for passive monitors. On active monitors, bi-amp provides better control over frequency by having dedicated amp channels for each driver. On three-way models, tri-amp configurations offer the most flexibility to optimise the reproduction of audio.

The size of studio monitors should align with your room size and music style. 5-inch woofers are a good fit for home studios. Wattage is significant for sound levels without distortion; for beginners, 50-75 watts per channel is a good start.

For the best near-field monitoring possible, make sure that your speakers are upright and level with your head. When seated in the sweet spot between your speakers, your head and the two speakers should comprise the three points of an equilateral triangle. Make sure that the speakers are as far away as possible from any walls to avoid potential low-frequency interaction with your room’s physical structure.

Speaker setup

When setting up speakers in a recording studio, it is important to consider the size of the room, the placement of the speakers, and the type of speakers being used.

The ideal speaker setup is an equilateral triangle formed with the listening position. This means that the speakers should be placed upright and level with the listener's head, creating an equilateral triangle with the listener at one point and the two speakers at the other two points.

However, when working with multiple sets of speakers, it can be challenging to achieve the perfect equilateral triangle. In such cases, it is recommended to place the minimonitors just to the inside of the main monitors. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that the speakers are positioned as far away as possible from any walls to avoid potential low-frequency interaction with the room's physical structure.

For the main monitors, it is recommended to use speakers with larger woofers, such as those with an 8-inch woofer, to achieve a better bass output. For the minimonitors, speakers with smaller woofers, typically ranging from 3 to 4 inches, are more suitable.

To control multiple sets of speakers, a monitor controller can be used. This acts as a switchboard for all audio sources and allows seamless switching between different sets of monitors, ensuring consistent volume levels.

When setting up speakers, it is also important to consider the acoustics of the room. Proper room tuning can reduce room tone and improve the overall listening experience. Additionally, the use of speaker-isolation wedges or isolation stands can help prevent sound transfer to the surface that the speakers are placed on, resulting in a more accurate listening experience.

By following these guidelines and considering the specific equipment and room layout, a user can effectively set up speakers in a recording studio to achieve optimal sound quality and a seamless workflow during music production.

Using a monitor controller

Monitor controllers are an essential component of a recording studio setup, offering improved workflow and flexibility in monitoring your mix playback. They enable you to control both the level and the output of your monitors, allowing you to toggle between different sets of speakers with ease. This is especially useful when you want to hear how your track translates on different types of speakers without having to manually reconfigure connections.

Monitor controllers typically feature multiple outputs, allowing you to connect and switch between multiple sets of speakers. This is beneficial as different sets of monitors have their own unique characteristics, and hearing your mix on various speakers can provide valuable insights. For instance, you may want to include a pair of near-field monitors, a pair of far-field monitors, and small cube-style monitors in your studio setup. A monitor controller lets you easily switch between these options and reference the low end with a subwoofer, thanks to its dedicated sub or LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) output.

Additionally, monitor controllers offer the ability to switch between mono and stereo output, providing a more accurate representation of your mix in different environments. For surround sound setups, you can also mute and unmute specific speakers, allowing you to focus on the output of individual speakers in the setup.

Some monitor controllers, like the Mackie Big Knob and Universal Audio's Apollo Twin MKII series, feature additional preamps that can be used for both monitoring and recording. This adds further versatility to your studio setup.

When choosing a monitor controller, consider the unique features that meet your studio's specific needs. For instance, the Mackie Big Knob Studio+ and Presonus Monitor Station V2 are ideal for home studios or mobile setups, while the Dangerous Music Monitor ST is a popular choice for mid-sized recording studios. If you're looking for a high-end option, the Crane Song Avocet IIA, Dangerous Music D-Box+, Grace Design m905, and Antelope Audio Satori are modern classics that offer exceptional performance.

Frequently asked questions