In this tutorial, we show you four different ways to connect your Mackie ProFX6v3 Audio Mixer to speakers. If you’re using desktop studio monitors or powered speakers for a PA system, this tutorial will help you get everything set up properly.
Quick Answer: Connecting your Mackie ProFX6v3 to your speakers will depend on the inputs that your speaker has. It can be as simple as using an XLR cable, ¼” TRS Cable, or you may need a ¼” TRS to RCA cable to make the connection.
- Option 1: 1/4″ TS to RCA Cable (Unbalanced) – https://currentprice.io/ts_rca
- Option 2: 1/4″ TRS Cable (Balanced) – https://currentprice.io/trs_xlr
- Option 3: XLR Cable (Balanced) – https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
Balanced vs Unbalanced Cables
Before connecting your ProFX6v3 to speakers, we must consider the difference between balanced and unbalanced cables.
Unbalanced Cables
Unbalanced cables are likely to have static, hiss, and bad quality if they are longer than 10-15ft (3-5m). For that reason, it’s important to keep these cables as short as possible.
Even if you use a short, unbalanced cable, it’s possible that you can pick up interference with the cable if you’re in an environment that has a lot of electromagnetic interference, like a home studio.
Examples of unbalanced cables:
- RCA Cables
- ¼” TS Cables
Balanced Cables
Balanced cables can run up to 1000’ (300m), in theory, without any interference or audio degradation. For this reason, we recommend using a balanced cable whenever possible, especially if you need to guarantee a high quality result.
Examples of balanced cables:
- ¼ TS Cables
- XLR Cables
Mackie ProFX6v3 Outputs
The Mackie ProFX6v3 has two options for the main outputs.
- 1/4″ Outputs
- XLR Outputs
You can use ¼” TRS or XLR. There is no quality difference between either option. Mostly, it comes down to what’s most convenient for you to use.
Although it’s possible to connect speakers to the headphone output, we don’t typically recommend this.
Option 1: 1/4″ TS to RCA Cable (Unbalanced)
If your speakers only have an RCA input, the best option is to use a ¼” TS to RCA Cable.
This will convert the ¼” outputs on your Mackie ProFX6v3 to the RCA inputs on your speaker.
This cable is unbalanced, so try to keep it as short as possible.
- 1/4″ TS To RCA Cable: https://currentprice.io/ts_rca
Option 2: 1/4″ TRS Cable (Balanced)
If your speakers have ¼” inputs, this is a great option for connecting your Mackie ProFX6v3 to a set of powered speakers.
You can use ¼” TRS cables to connect your ProFX6v3 outputs to the ¼” inputs of your speakers.
If your speakers’ inputs are balanced, you won’t have any issues running a cable like this over a long distance to connect your studio monitors. .
Although it’s not as common as the next option, this will still work and give you a high-quality, balanced signal.
- TRS Cable: https://currentprice.io/trs_cable
Option 3: XLR Cable (Balanced)
This is the most common way to connect an audio mixer to a set of speakers, and it’s a great option for the Mackie ProFX6v3.
XLR cables are balanced and can run a long distance before you run into any quality issues.
It’s also very easy to connect XLR cables together to achieve the desired length.
Out of all of the options, this is the easiest and the most common.
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
Option 4: ¼” TRS to XLR Cable (Balanced)
If you’ve used your two XLR outputs on the Mackie ProFX6v3 and you need another XLR output, you can use an adapter cable like this one to convert one of your ¼” outputs to be XLR.
These cables are balanced and there is no quality difference between this solution and an XLR cable.
We typically use short versions of this cable (less than 6ft) and then use normal XLR cables to extend the length if we need to.
- 1/4″ TRS To XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/trs_xlr
Pricing For Connecting Mackie ProFX6v3 To Speakers
- Mackie ProFX6v3 Audio Mixer: https://currentprice.io/profx6v3
- M-Audio BX-4 A/V Speakers: https://currentprice.io/maudio_bx4
- Yamaha HS5 Studio Monitor: https://currentprice.io/hs5_monitor
- Adam Audio T5V Studio Monitor: https://currentprice.io/adam_t5v
- Rode NT1 Microphone: https://currentprice.io/rode_nt1_kit
- 1/4″ TS To RCA Cable: https://currentprice.io/ts_rca
- 1/4″ TRS To XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/trs_xlr
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- TRS Cable: https://currentprice.io/trs_cable
- Mic Stand: https://currentprice.io/desk_stand
- Rode PSA1+ Boom Arm: http://currentprice.io/psa1_plus
- Quality Acoustic Treatment Panels: http://currentprice.io/soundpanels
Connect Mackie ProFX6v3 To Speakers | Topics
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 0:41 – Equipment In Video
- 1:41 – Price & Specs
- 1:58 – Balanced vs Unbalanced Cables
- 4:06 – ProFX6v3 Audio Mixer Outputs
- 4:38 – Option 1: 1/4″ TS to RCA Cable (Unbalanced)
- 5:45 – Option 2: 1/4″ TRS Cable (Balanced)
- 6:40 – Option 3: XLR Cable (Balanced)
- 7:49 – Option 4: 1/4″ TRS To XLR Cable (Balanced)
- 9:15 – Final Thoughts
