Jack

The "jack" is without a doubt the most commonly used connector for small-scale audio equipment. Jacks are normally divided into three different types, based on their diameter:

• 2.5 mm jack: The smallest jack;
• 3.5 mm jack: The traditional jack, which corresponds to a headphone jack;
• 6.35 mm jack: The jack used for semi-professional sound systems, in order to connect speakers, amplifiers, or microphones.

There are two versions of each of these jacks:

• Mono jacks, for sending monophonic sound. This kind of jack has two contacts: a reference, found on the body of the cord, and the signal on the tip.
• Stereo jacks, for sending stereophonic sound. This kind of jack has three contacts: The same two as its mono counterpart, as well as an additional ring for sending another audio channel.

In computer sound cards, the plugs for jacks are generally colour-coded so users can easily tell which type of audio device each one connects to, and whether they are audio inputs or outputs.

Last update on Thursday October 16, 2008 02:43:14 PM.This document entitled « Jack » from Kioskea (en.kioskea.net) is made available under the Creative Commons license. You can copy, modify copies of this page, under the conditions stipulated by the licence, as this note appears clearly.