How to Setup Studio Monitors (Placement Guide)

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So, you want to know the best strategy for studio monitor placement in your recording/mixing space? You came to the right place.

A lot of new artists and producers don’t know how important it is to setup your studio monitors in the best possible way.

And sometimes even seasoned vets don’t realize how much better they could get their beats/songs sounding by setting them up right.

— Learn How to Mix and Master Music – Read Our Guide —

Not doing this could mean that your music won’t live up to its full potential – the quality of the mix will be off, things won’t be balanced, etc.

And when you’re making music professionally, you need to make sure you keep your game tight.

Why Bother Calibrating Your Studio Monitors?

You could just plug-and-play your speakers out of the box (what most people do) but that’s not going to help you when it comes to sounding your absolute best..

Follow this quick guide and you’ll hear everything when you make your own beats (learn how) or songs properly so you can get it sounding perfect.

You bought these speakers so you could make sure your music sounds its best, right? So take 15 minutes and set them up properly.

Placement Diagram

The first thing you want to do is make sure everything is sitting in the right spot.

It all depends on where you’re sitting when you will be listening to the playback.

Where you sit (mix position) should form an equilateral triangle with your two studio speakers.

Huh?

Check the diagram:

Visualization of Ideal Way to Setup Studio Monitors in Equal Triangle

So that’s how you approach placement – set everything up in an equilateral triangle. The distance between the speakers and the distance between you and each speaker should be equal. 2-3 ft. is just an example – it doesn’t have to be that distance exactly.

Now, this might be kind of hard to do if you don’t have dedicated studio monitor stands. A lot of producers just put their speakers on their desks.

Having a positioning setup like this puts you in the “sweet-spot” for hearing everything perfectly.

Calibrating Your Gear Correctly

Now it’s time to make sure both monitors are working optimally and sound the same.

Have you ever noticed one of your speakers sounding a bit off compared to your other one? Skip this step and you might not be able to hear proper levels/panning/effects/etc.

You’re going to need an SPL Meter to calibrate. If you’ve got a smart phone you can download one like I did. Just go to your app store and search for “SPL Meter” and download a free one like dB Volume by DSP Mobile.

If you don’t, you can buy one at The Source or Radio Shack. (Or you could come back from 5 years ago and buy a smartphone…)

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Here’s what you do:

Step 1:

Open your SPL Meter app and set it to “C Weighting” and “Slow Response.” (See image on right)

Put your phone/meter in the position you’ll be sitting when making music at ear level (use a desk/chair/music stand if needed)

Step 2:

Open your DAW (i.e Cubase, Reaper, ProTools, etc.) and set your mixer’s master fader to Unity (0 db).

Download the pink noise audio file below and pop it into a new audio track. This will help us tune our setup.

Step 3:

Adjust your audio interface (i.e. pro sound card) master volume knob to somewhere in the middle. We may have to adjust this later.

Step 4:

See the volume knobs on the back of each unit? Set those all the way down and make sure there are no other knobs boosting/reducing certain frequency ranges or anything.

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Step 5:

We’re going to calibrate each monitor separately so turn the Pan Settings on the audio track 100% to the left.

Hit play on your DAW to playback the pink noise (it should sound like TV static coming out of your left speaker)

Step 6:

Now adjust the volume knob on the back of your left monitor until your SPL meter hits 80db.

Now do the exact same thing to the other speaker (remember to adjust your pan on the audio track in your DAW 100% to the right now).

Closeup on Rear Controls of a KRK Studio Monitor

NOTE: If you can’t get the SPL Meter to hit 80db and you’ve cranked the knob on the back of your speakers all the way up, go back to your audio interface volume knob and start turning that up until the SPL Meter does hit 80db

Step 7:

Mark this volume setting on your audio interface with a pen/pencil/marker or some tape. This is the ideal setting for you to produce your music at.

You can always go louder now and then just to hear how it sounds, but you should mostly use this level of volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Studio Monitor Size Matter?

Yes, the size of your studio monitors will impact the sound. The bigger the woofer of the speaker is, the more bass response you’ll hear. However, it will also impact where you place your monitors for ideal listening. If you have a small room, then bigger options are usually not ideal. If you have a larger room, smaller monitors may not be suitable for your use, either.

How Many Studio Monitors Do I Need?

If you’re just starting out, then you only need one good pair of monitors that translate well. You may consider getting a good pair of headphones to check your mixes. You usually don’t need multiple sets of monitors. Most mixing engineers will have a couple sets of monitors, a mono studio speaker and a good set of headphones just so they can reference their mixes using different types of equipment. But it’s not 100% necessary.

Are Studio Monitor Stands Worth It?

Yes, in a lot of cases it can be helpful and even beneficial to place your studio monitors on stands that are separate from your mixing desk. That’s because it helps to prevent vibrations of other equipment that can impact your perception of what you’re hearing. It also makes it easier to place them in their ideal spots since they are now free-standing, and not ties down to your desk location.

How Close Should I Sit to My Studio Monitors?

A general guide on how far away you should be from your studio monitors is this – the two tweeters of your monitor and your head at ear level should form an equilateral triangle. That means your ear should be as far away from the tweeter (on the same side) as the tweeter is from the other tweeter on the other monitor.

Now Go Make Music

If you set things up in the best way possible and calibrate them properly, you’ll make better decision in the mix and while you’re producing music in your beat making software of choice.

If you’re new to making music, sign-up for our free Beat Making Cheat Sheets and you’ll get our 7-Day Course to Better Beats as well.

Thanks for reading our complete guide to studio monitor placement! We hope it was helpful.