Strange issue with external monitor, only working when external speakers plugged in

Hey – I am having a very strange issue with my external monitor; where it only works if my external speakers are plugged in and connected.
I am using a late 2011 Macbook pro, running Mavericks 10.9.4, along with an MBox 2 (USB Audio Interface), and two powered speakers (KRK Rokit 5). This setup has had no issues. I have just acquired an external monitor (Benq T2200HD), which I am using with a thunderbolt to VGA adaptor (a cheap non-apple adaptor).
To start - I plugged the monitor in with the thunderbolt adaptor, and it powers up and works fine. However, there is a nasty buzz coming from the speakers. I did some research and it looks like a simple ground loop issue. I did a bit of troubleshooting, and this is where things get weird.
What I found is - If I unplug the MBox, the monitor loses signal from the computer (displaying ‘No Signal Detected!’). Further, if I keep the MBox plugged in, however unplug both the cables from the MBox to the speakers, the monitor loses signal. It doesn’t matter if the speakers are turned off, however they need to be plugged in (or the monitor loses signal). Weirder still, I can unplug the MBox, however the monitor will work if I plug in the speakers through my macs headphone jack.
Simply put, the monitor only works if there is a direct connection between the computer, the speakers, and the power source.  What is going on here? Is the monitor grounding through the computer port, to the speakers (I don’t know how this works, is this possible?). Could it somehow be the cheap VGA adaptor I am using?
Some other information:
- Everything is plugged into the same multi-box for power. I have tried plugging things into separate sources, and the result is the same.
- If I unplug the thunderbolt adaptor, then the speaker noise disappears straight away.
- The ground noise doesn’t appear in my headphones, which are plugged into the MBox.
Any information would be great – am I missing something here, or is this genuinely weird?

Hello cgoldberg11
Please go to the below link to test if you are having a speaker hardware failure.
Testing for Hardware Failures (Windows 7)
This will rule out hardware failure, let me know how that goes.
Thanks
If I have solved your issue, please feel free to provide kudos and make sure you mark this thread as solution provided!
Although I work for HP, my posts and replies are my own opinion and not those of HP. .....
Reguards,
Mo

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