If your speakers make a low electrical drone even with nothing playing, the good news is that learning how to fix buzzing from monitors usually comes down to a handful of common causes: a ground loop, a bad cable, or interference from nearby gear. Most fixes take minutes and cost nothing.
Work through the checks below in order. Stop as soon as the buzz disappears, then you know exactly what caused it.
First, identify the type of buzz
Two sounds get lumped together. A low, steady hum at 50/60Hz (matching your mains frequency) almost always points to a ground loop or power issue. A higher, raspier buzz or fizz usually means a cable, connector, or radio-frequency interference problem. Knowing which you have narrows the cause fast.
Quick test: turn the monitor volume up with no source connected. If the buzz is still there, the problem is in the monitor or its power; if it only appears once your interface is connected, the issue is in the signal chain.
Rule out a ground loop
A ground loop happens when two pieces of gear connect to ground through more than one path, creating a small current that you hear as hum. To test:
- Temporarily plug your interface and monitors into the same power strip or outlet. If the hum drops, you had a ground loop between outlets.
- Try a laptop running on battery (charger unplugged). If the buzz vanishes, the charger or its outlet is part of the loop.
- Use balanced TRS or XLR cables between interface and monitors instead of unbalanced TS/RCA — balanced connections reject this kind of noise.
For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide on how to fix a ground loop hum. Avoid “cheater” plugs that lift the safety ground — that is a shock hazard, not a fix.
Check your cables and connections
A scratchy buzz that changes when you wiggle a cable is a dead giveaway. Reseat every connector, and swap in a known-good cable one at a time. Cheap unbalanced RCA leads are a frequent culprit; balanced cables are far quieter over any real distance. If you suspect a specific lead, our guide on how to test an XLR cable shows how to confirm a fault.
Also check that connectors are clean and fully seated. A partially inserted jack can pick up noise even when audio still passes.
Move interference sources away
Phone chargers, dimmer switches, fluorescent lights, Wi-Fi routers and power supplies can all radiate noise into nearby cables. Try this:
- Move your phone away from the monitors, or set it to airplane mode, and listen for a change.
- Keep audio cables crossing power cables at right angles rather than running parallel to them.
- Relocate wall-wart power supplies away from the monitor’s input panel.
Address gain staging and grounding inside the chain
Running your interface output low and your monitor input high amplifies any noise floor, including buzz. Set healthy levels through the chain — our gain staging guide explains how. If you use a monitor controller or several devices, a power conditioner can give everything a single clean ground reference and tidy the mains feed.
When it is the monitor itself
If the buzz persists with nothing connected and on a different outlet, the speaker’s internal amp or power supply may be failing — common in older or heavily-used monitors. Keeping them in good shape helps; see how to maintain studio monitors. If a single monitor buzzes and swapping cables and outlets does not help, it likely needs service.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my monitors buzz only when I touch the desk or chassis?
That points to a grounding issue — your body is briefly completing or breaking a ground path. Use balanced cables, plug all gear into the same outlet, and make sure each device’s safety ground is intact rather than lifted.
Will a USB ground-loop isolator stop monitor buzzing?
An audio ground-loop isolator placed on the line between interface and monitors can help with hum caused by a loop, but it can also dull the sound slightly. Fix the grounding and cabling first; treat an isolator as a last resort if the loop cannot be removed.
Is buzzing the same as hiss?
No. Buzz and hum are tied to mains/grounding and have a clear pitch; hiss is broadband white noise usually from gain settings or analog circuitry. If yours is hiss, read how to fix studio monitor hiss instead.
Leave a Reply