
Included in this plethora of use cases is the transfer of audio data. Engineers from some of the top companies all came together to create this new standard plug which is supposed to do everything from transfer huge amounts of digital data to charging your devices. You may also have heard of a brand new kind of plug called USB-C, and it’s supposed to be the latest and greatest plug that will solve all our problems. Sure, people don’t like wires but their benefits are tough to overstate. The advantage of this type of connection is that not only is it cheap, but when properly implemented it can deliver much higher performance than any mode of Bluetooth on the market. If you choose the wrong one, you might not get all the functionality you’re looking for. If you’re buying cables with this type of connector, pay close attention to what you might need for a termination. Opening up a plug, you can see the ground is held away from the signal pin (please disregard the coathanger “wire”). Fun fact: Apple uses a slightly different TRRS connector where the ground and microphone sections are switched, which is why the “Made for iPhone” headsets is a thing. Most often, the sleeve (the longest part) will act as the ground for the electric connection, while the rings and tip will be used to transmit signal. When you see “TRS” or “TRRS” on a spec sheet, the letter “T” stands for tip, “R” stands for ring, and “S” stands for sleeve. The plug assemblies of headphone jacks are divided into three main parts: the tip, rings, and the sleeve.


It might seem complicated, but just like everything else in audio, it really isn’t.

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This is where the terms TS, TRS, and TRRS come into play. In some cases, they also need to be used to split the audio to either one or two channels (mono or stereo). Sometimes, as in the case with most headphones, they also have to be used for transferring your voice while you’re on the phone. The 3.5mm headphone jack is gold-plated but could use a beefier stress-reliever like the MA750i is equipped with.īut that’s not all you need to know, because these connectors aren’t just used for transferring music.
