Audio Connector and Cable Types: A Quick Guide
You drive the journey home with a new toy held in your palm, looking forward to hooking it up and starting to tape the double record conception you’ve been working on for over a year. When the device arrives, you eagerly unbox it, connect it to your computer using the provided cable, and install the drivers.
Then calamity strikes you realize you’re using the incorrect wires to connect your loudspeakers to it. This is a common blunder, owing in part to the fact that there are numerous audio cable types and connections, many of which are given inaccurate names.
Here is a reference to the terms of each connection, to spare you from unnecessary journeys, wrong purchases, or just as a guide to the terms of each wired connection as well as what they look like…
The Quarter-Inch Connector
The 1/4 jack is the sort of speaker cable connectors found in string instruments and guitar amplifiers, it is the most frequent connection seen on musical instruments. The plug is often a 6.3mm or 1/4-inch jack with a simple black hoop termed an insulation ring near the tip (indicating that this is a single-channel connector). Musical cables (protected cabling) can be used for instruments and line-level connections, whereas Speaker Cables (unshielded wiring) are being used to connect loudspeakers to amplifiers and guitar heads to cabinets.
The Stereo Connectoror Quarter Balanced Jack
This plug is just the same diameter as the one above, as the name implies. The only distinction between the two would be that this link can transmit 2 audio channels (e.g., a stereo signal, with distinct right and left channel).
This is accomplished using a Tip, Ring, Sleeve (TRS) arrangement, with 2 black hoops dividing the plug. The pointed end is the tip, the band is the part after the main black hoop, and the sleeve is the part after the next black hoop.
The right and left channel transmissions are carried by the ring and tip, while the basic earth is carried by the sleeve. Headphone outputs is the most common usage of a stereo jack connector, which can be found on pianos, keyboards, mixing desks, recording devices, guitar amps, and other devices.
The Stereo Minijack Connector
This is, without a doubt, the most popular audio interface. The stereo minijack is the type of plug found on most MP3 player headphones. With a 3.5mm (1/8′′) plug, this interface is smaller. This is also a TRS setup, with 2 insulation rings, if you’ve been paying close attention. Similarly, the tip and ring carry the left and right routes, with a sleeve serving as a general ground.
Handheld music player headsets, linking MP3 players to vehicle stereos, and audio connection on pcs are the most popular uses for them. Single mini jacks do exist (they’re distinguished by their single black hoop/insulating ring), but they’re rarely used.
That should cover the majority of analogue audio interfaces. So, now that you know the difference between a quarter inch connector and a stable jack, you can request for a stereo mini jack to a pair of RCAs to link your iPod to your DJ mixer with confidence, knowing that you won’t be disappointed when you get home. At the very least, there won’t be any cable-related surprises.
