Yep. Monitors make all the difference, f'real.
As for your volume, set your monitors at 0. Neither loud, nor soft. Or if there isn't a 0 point, put them at like 50-80%, depending on what your interface is and how much juice you can push out. I use a Tascam US1800 and I have the volume of my monitors at 0 (they can go from -30db to +6db) and use the volume of the interface to make it louder or softer from there.