How to Get Audio to Go Through Different Monitor
Man, I spent a stupid amount of time and money trying to figure out how to get audio to go through different monitor setups before I had multiple screens. My first dual-monitor rig was a nightmare. I’d get the video looking perfect, then the audio would either play through my speakers AND my headset, or just one, and I’d spend an hour fiddling with sound settings that made no sense. It felt like trying to herd cats through a keyhole.
Finally, after more trial and error than I care to admit – probably around my tenth frustrating evening wrestling with cables and Windows audio mixer – I figured out what was actually necessary and what was just snake oil advice online.
This whole mess taught me that most ‘guides’ are either too basic or way too technical. They don’t tell you the real-world stuff, like how a specific port might be the culprit or why your graphics card is suddenly in charge of your sound.
So, if you’re wondering how to get audio to go through different monitor configurations, buckle up. I’m going to tell you exactly what worked for me, no fluff.
Choosing Your Monitor Wisely (it’s Not Just About the Picture)
Okay, let’s cut to the chase. The biggest hurdle in figuring out how to get audio to go through different monitor setups often starts before you even plug anything in. Not all monitors are created equal when it comes to audio. Most cheap ones? They’re just screens. They have no built-in speakers, or if they do, they sound like a tin can being kicked down a hallway. You need to look for monitors that actually have audio output capabilities or, more importantly, support audio passthrough via HDMI or DisplayPort, which is common.
I remember buying a sleek, ultra-wide monitor that looked amazing, only to realize it had zero audio ports. Zip. Nada. The marketing photos made it look like a complete media hub. It was a $600 mistake that taught me to read the specs like a hawk. Seriously, check for headphone jacks, line-out ports, or HDMI/DisplayPort audio support. If it’s missing, you’re already fighting an uphill battle.
This is where most people get tripped up. They assume if the monitor has speakers, the audio will magically appear. Not so fast. Sometimes, the monitor speakers are an afterthought, and the audio processing is rudimentary. I’ve had monitors where the built-in speakers were so bad, I genuinely considered them a visual distraction rather than an audio source.
The Cable Conspiracy: HDMI vs. Displayport vs. Others
This is a big one. How you connect your monitor directly impacts how audio travels. HDMI is usually the go-to because it carries both video and audio signals simultaneously. It’s the most common and generally the easiest way to get audio to go through different monitor setups, especially if your graphics card and monitor both support it. (See Also: How To Put 144hz Monitor At 144hz )
DisplayPort is similar but often preferred by PC gamers for higher refresh rates and better multi-monitor support. It also carries audio. So, if you’re using DisplayPort, you’re likely in good shape. The trick is making sure both ends of the cable – the computer and the monitor – are configured to send and receive that audio signal. Sometimes, it’s as simple as selecting the correct audio output device in your operating system. Other times, it’s a bit more stubborn.
Now, let’s talk about the dark horse: USB-C. Many newer monitors and laptops use USB-C for single-cable solutions, carrying video, audio, and even power. This can be super convenient, but it also adds another layer of potential complexity. If your USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode and audio, you’re golden. But if it doesn’t, or if the monitor’s internal audio processing is wonky, you’re back to square one. I’ve seen USB-C setups work flawlessly for some, and be a complete nightmare for others. It’s like a lottery sometimes.
My personal hell involved a DisplayPort connection where the audio kept dropping out. It turned out one of the cables I bought, a supposedly ‘high-speed’ one for a cool $40, was actually faulty and couldn’t reliably carry the audio stream alongside the video. I spent three days convinced my entire system was broken, only to swap the cable for a basic, no-name $8 one, and poof, perfect audio. Go figure.
Here’s a little something that might surprise you: some people swear by using a separate audio cable (like a 3.5mm jack from the PC to the monitor’s line-in) if the digital audio through HDMI/DP is giving them grief. I’ve never needed to do it, but for stubborn cases, it’s an option, though it defeats the ‘single cable’ elegance of modern connections.
| Connection Type | Video Support | Audio Support | My Verdict (Seriously) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI | Yes | Yes | Most reliable for general use. Plug and play usually works, but check settings. |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes | Great for PCs, especially gaming. Can sometimes be fussier with specific monitor/GPU combos. |
| USB-C (Alt Mode) | Yes | Yes | Convenient but variable. Check your device and monitor specs carefully; can be a magic bullet or a mess. |
| DVI/VGA | Yes | No | Forget about audio here. These are ancient and only do video. |
The Operating System Juggling Act
Once your hardware is connected, the real fun (read: headache) begins with your operating system. Whether you’re on Windows or macOS, there’s a central hub for managing all your audio devices. For Windows, it’s the Sound settings. For macOS, it’s Sound Preferences. This is where you tell your computer which device should be playing sound.
Typically, when you plug in a monitor via HDMI or DisplayPort, your OS should detect it as an audio output device. You’ll see it listed, often with the monitor’s model name or something generic like ‘Digital Output (HDMI)’. The trick to getting audio to go through different monitor setups is simply selecting the correct one from the list. Click on it, and then click ‘Set Default’. Easy, right? Well, sometimes.
I’ve had instances, probably five or six times in my decade of tinkering, where Windows would *see* the monitor as an audio device, but it wouldn’t actually *play* anything through it. It was like a ghost device. The solution? Often a driver update. For your graphics card, specifically. NVIDIA and AMD drivers are known to handle the audio stream over HDMI/DisplayPort. Keeping those drivers up-to-date is more important than people realize. I found that after updating my NVIDIA drivers, a monitor that was previously silent suddenly sprung to life. It felt like magic, but it was just updated firmware. (See Also: How To Switch An Acer Monitor To Hdmi )
Another Windows quirk: the Volume Mixer. Sometimes, an application will be set to output audio to a different device than your default. So, you might have your monitor selected as default, but your browser or game is still blasting sound through your old speakers. You have to go into the Volume Mixer (right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar) and check each application’s output. It’s tedious, but it’s saved me from pulling my hair out more than once. I remember one time, my music was coming out of my headset while my game was coming through the monitor speakers. Utter chaos.
macOS is generally a bit more streamlined, but the principle is the same. You go to System Preferences > Sound, and under the ‘Output’ tab, you select your monitor. If it doesn’t appear, again, check your cable, your monitor settings, and ensure your macOS is up-to-date. Sometimes, a simple restart clears up these minor glitches.
The Monitor’s Own Settings: Don’t Forget the Monitor Itself!
This is the part that gets overlooked about 80% of the time. Your monitor isn’t just a passive screen; it has its own internal menu system. And within that menu, there are often audio settings that can override or conflict with your computer’s settings. This is particularly true if your monitor has built-in speakers.
I’ve spent hours troubleshooting, convinced it was a driver issue, only to find a setting buried three menus deep on the monitor itself that was set to ‘Mute’ or ‘Line Out’ when I wanted ‘Internal Speakers’. It’s like trying to tune an old analog radio; you twist the dial, and suddenly, clarity. You need to physically access the monitor’s On-Screen Display (OSD) menu. This is usually done with buttons on the monitor’s bezel or back. Navigate through it, and look for anything related to ‘Audio’, ‘Sound’, ‘Volume’, or ‘Output’.
For example, if you’re using HDMI, the monitor needs to be told to process and output the audio signal it’s receiving. Some monitors have an option to select the audio source if they have multiple inputs. Make sure it’s set to the input you’re actually using (e.g., HDMI 1, DisplayPort 2). I once saw a monitor where the audio was coming through, but it was incredibly quiet. Turns out, the volume slider *within the monitor’s OSD* was turned down to like 5%. The computer’s volume was maxed out, but the monitor was the bottleneck. It was a $300 lesson in checking every single volume control.
This is where the comparison to a chef comes in. You can have the finest ingredients (your PC hardware), the best recipe (your OS settings), but if your oven (the monitor’s internal audio processor) is set to the wrong temperature, your dish will be ruined. You have to understand and control every part of the cooking process, from the stove to the plate.
When All Else Fails: External Solutions
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you just can’t get the audio to behave. Maybe your monitor is older, lacks decent speakers, or your specific hardware combination is just a pain. In these cases, don’t beat yourself up. There are perfectly good external solutions that will save your sanity and still let you get audio to go through different monitor (or rather, *around* it). The most straightforward is an external speaker system. Plug it directly into your computer’s audio jack or via USB. (See Also: How To Monitor My Sleep With Apple Watch )
Another, often cleaner, solution is a pair of powered studio monitors or even just decent desktop speakers. They connect via a 3.5mm audio cable or USB. This bypasses the monitor’s audio processing entirely and gives you better sound quality anyway. I ended up doing this for my secondary monitor setup because the built-in speakers were, frankly, abysmal. It wasn’t the ‘cleanest’ setup cable-wise, but the sound was infinitely better. I spent about $80 on a pair of budget bookshelf speakers, and it was worth every penny to stop the audio headaches.
Headphones are, of course, the ultimate bypass. If you just need personal audio and don’t want to deal with speakers or monitor audio at all, plugging in a good pair of headphones directly into your PC is the easiest route. You can then switch between your monitor’s audio (if it works) and your headphones easily through your OS sound settings. For gaming or focused work, headphones are often superior anyway.
If you’re getting really fancy with multiple monitors and need to route audio specifically to one or another, you might look into software solutions like VoiceMeeter Banana or JACK Audio Connection Kit. These are more advanced and frankly, overkill for most people just trying to get basic audio. But for those who need granular control over audio routing across multiple devices and applications, they exist. I tried VoiceMeeter once for a complex streaming setup, and it felt like learning a new programming language. Not for the faint of heart, but powerful.
What If My Monitor Doesn’t Have Speakers?
If your monitor is essentially just a display and has no built-in speakers, you won’t get audio *through* it directly. You’ll need to connect your audio output (speakers or headphones) directly to your computer or to an audio output port on another device in your setup that is connected to your computer. Many monitors will still pass an audio signal via HDMI or DisplayPort, which you can then use if your monitor *does* have a headphone jack to plug external speakers into, but if there’s no speaker or audio out port on the monitor, it’s purely a video device.
Can I Send Audio to Two Different Monitors at Once?
Yes, you absolutely can. The most common way is through your operating system’s audio settings. In Windows, you can often enable ‘Stereo Mix’ (which might need to be unhidden in the Sound settings) and then configure it to output to multiple devices. Alternatively, specialized software like VoiceMeeter can offer much more control over routing audio to several outputs simultaneously, though it has a steeper learning curve. You might also be able to do this with certain audio interfaces that have multiple outputs.
My Monitor Has Speakers, but They Sound Terrible. What Can I Do?
This is super common. Most monitor speakers are designed for basic system beeps, not for enjoying music or movies. Your best bet is to bypass them entirely and use external speakers or headphones. Connect them directly to your computer’s audio jack, USB port, or via Bluetooth. You can then select these external devices as your primary audio output in your operating system’s sound settings, ignoring the monitor’s built-in speakers.
Conclusion
So, that’s the lowdown on how to get audio to go through different monitor setups. It’s rarely a single button push, and sometimes it feels like you’re playing detective with your cables and settings. I’ve personally wasted probably 15 hours over the years wrestling with this exact problem, so trust me, you’re not alone.
Remember to check your monitor’s actual capabilities *before* you buy, verify your cables are solid (don’t assume expensive means good), and don’t forget to dig into your operating system’s sound settings and even your monitor’s own OSD menu. They all have a role to play.
If you’re still stuck, external speakers or a decent pair of headphones are your best friends. They’re a surefire way to get good sound without fighting your hardware. This whole process has taught me that when it comes to tech, the simplest solution is often the one hiding in plain sight.
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