Is tip left or right?

Question

Barry Bandari · Answer

Are you confused about headphone jacks and plugs?

Despite Apple’s continuous effort to kill off the analog headphone jack, this interface is still proving resilient.

There is some merit to Apple’s approach, inconvenient as it may be during the transitioning period.

The all-digital Lightning connector is capable of transferring more data than an analog 3.5mm cable. It can power the device it’s connected to, enable active noise canceling without the need for batteries, and so much more.

But we’re not here to talk about the Lightning cable. Instead, this article will focus on the differences between the many types of analog headphone plugs.

We’ll focus on the plugs (the parts on the ends of headphone cables) rather than the jacks (the connectors that the plugs are inserted into) since they’re much easier to distinguish visually.

All you should know about jacks is that they usually require a port with the same wiring, but this isn’t always the case.

All plugs have several conductors, which serve as contact points between the plug and the jack.

The connectors are divided by black rings, which are known as insulating bands. Later, when we need to count “rings” to determine how many conductors there are, we will not be referring to the black insulating bands.

An analog cable plug can have anywhere between 2 to 5 conductors (or pins), which are divided into sleeves (S), tips (T), and rings (R). The two mandatory conductors are the sleeve (S) and the tip (T).

A plug with just the sleeve and the tip is known as a 2-conductor plug or a TS connector. The plug can also have one, two, or three rings (R), each serving as a separate new conductor.

These rings are separated from the tip and the sleeve (or other rings) by means of the previously mentioned black insulating bands.

So, if a plug has two insulating bands, it only has a single ring!

In any case, these conductors match to create four possible plug combinations:

TS connectors have only two conductors, making them fairly straightforward.

One carries the audio signal, the other serves as a return path and ground. Since only one audio signal is sent, TS connectors can only carry unbalanced mono audio signals.

As far as headphones are concerned, TS plugs are rare and only found in some 2.5mm connectors (more on plug/jack sizes later).

They are more frequently used with 6.35mm connectors, which are used for instrument cables. If you’ve ever plugged an electric guitar into an amplifier, you used a 6.35mm TS cable.

These cables are typically fairly short, as they tend to pick up a lot of interference. The longer the cable is, the more interference the signal will accumulate.

TRS connectors are the most common plugs in headphones. This is typically what people mean when referring to a 3.5mm plug.

Of the three conductors found in these plugs, one is used as a return path and ground, while the other two serve as the left and right audio channels. Since they carry the left and right audio signals separately, cables with these plugs can carry unbalanced stereo signals.

Although the TRS connector is most commonly used with 3.5mm plugs, it can also be found on 2.5mm and 6.35mm plugs.

TRS cables can also carry balanced mono audio signals, where the tip and the ring carry the same audio signal with reversed polarities, but it’s not used in this way with headphones.

A TRS cable can also be used for an unbalanced mono connection, where the ring can serve to support the microphone signal, but again, very rarely will you stumble upon headphones that use this.

By adding another ring, we end up with a TRRS connector, which is also commonly found with headphones.

The benefit of TRRS connectors is that, in addition to unbalanced stereo signals, they also have a single conductor left to handle the microphone.

Now, this is where things start to get tricky with regard to which conductor carries which signal. Namely, there are two TRRS conductor arrangement standards: CTIA and OMTP.

OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), the older standard, assigns the sleeve conductor to the common return wire and ground.

The newer CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) standard uses the sleeve to handle the microphone audio wire.

Why is this important? And what difference does it make?

Well, it comes down to being able to use the TRS plug with TRRS jacks. Typically, in order to use a plug, you have to plug it into a jack that’s the same diameter and follows the same wiring schematic.

Most smartphones (that still feature the 3.5mm jack) have a TRRS jack, as they need to be able to handle the microphone signal.

However, not all headphones have a microphone. In fact, most headphones come without a built-in mic.

And if there’s no microphone, the headphones will use a TRS plug. So the CTIA standard is used to retain the same conductor arrangement between TRS and TRRS plugs relative to the signals these conductors carry.

The tip always carries the left audio signal. The ring adjacent to the tip always carries the right audio signal (regardless of whether it’s the only ring or not).

And in TRS plugs, the sleeve serves as the return path and ground. So for TRS plugs to be compatible with TRRS jacks, the second ring needs to serve as the return path and ground, which is accomplished through the use of the CTIA standard.

In any case, TRRS plugs are used with headphones that feature a microphone.

All devices that support both a microphone and stereo audio, like smartphones and gaming consoles, come with TRRS jacks, but their conductors are wired according to the CTIA standard so that headphones without a microphone can still be used with these devices.

The biggest deal with TRRRS connectors is that they support balanced stereo signals.

As in most cases, the sleeve here serves as ground (although there is no return wire), but then the two rings next to the sleeve carry the hot and cold right channel audio signals while the remaining ring and tip carry the hot and cold left channel audio signals.

What is the purpose of this?

For a comprehensive contrast of balanced and unbalanced connections, we would like to refer you to this article.

Here’s the short of it, though: balanced audio connections are great at eliminating interference.

This is why the audio signal is split into two channels: positive (hot) and negative (cold). These signals both pick up the same interference on their way to the headphone.

The interference on both channels is the same, meaning, positive or hot. When the signals reach the end of the cable, the cold channel has its polarity reversed once again.

This flips the audio signal back to positive while making the interference negative. Now the positive and negative instances of the same interference cancel each other out, leaving you with a clean signal. This method of interference elimination is known as Common Mode Rejection (CMR).

If theoretically, the polarity of the second channel weren’t flipped the second time, the positive and negative audio signals would cancel each other out, and you would only hear the interference since both instances of it are positive.

This is, of course, impossible, but hopefully, it helps illustrate the principle behind CMR. Again, you can find a much more detailed explanation of all of this and more in the aforementioned article.

So, back to TRRRS connectors.

These plugs are basically used with audiophile-grade devices where clarity is paramount. For headphones specifically, XLR connectors have typically been used instead of TRRRS ones to support balanced stereo connections.

However, Sony has released a TRRRS headphone jack called the 4.4mm Pentaconn connector relatively recently.

While it has not yet been widely implemented outside of Sony products, it’s still worth noting, as TRRRS balanced headphones are finally a thing now, thanks to this.

In addition to the number of conductors, ports are also distinguished by their diameter. In fact, in everyday talk, the diameter is often the only thing that’s mentioned.

We all know about the 3.5mm jack (and plug). But as we’ve seen, both TRS and TRRS plugs (and jacks) can have a 3.5mm diameter. So a single diameter is not exclusive to a single type of plug with regard to the number of conductors.

Overall, the four most common sizes of analog headphone plugs are:

So, why is all of this important to know?

Frankly, it isn’t, at least not for most people.

Seeing as TRS and TRRS plugs are both compatible with TRRS jacks thanks to the CTIA standard, the common consumer can easily just distinguish between the diameters and be safe.

However, plugs affect the sound quality, either directly or indirectly – they let you know which headphones establish a balanced connection and which don’t, or which ones support a microphone and which don’t.

And these are things that every audiophile worth their salt should be able to recognize just by looking at the plug.

liiz Kundu · Answer

* Typically tip is left and ring is right, HOWEVER, this is an unbalanced stereo connection.

Sahil Roshni · Answer

In this post, you’ll learn the difference between TS, TRS, and TRRS connectors. By the end, you’ll understand how each connector is designed to carry a specific type of audio signal.

What is the difference between TS, TRS, and TRRS?

TS, TRS, and TRRS indicates the sections on a ¼-inch or 3.5mm connector. The letters stand for tip, ring, and sleeve. Each conductive section allows for an additional connection between the source and destination.

All of the connectors you see here are either ¼-inch or 3.5mm connectors. The differentiating characteristic of each connector is the number of conductive sections.

¼-inch and 3.5mm connectors consist of three types of sections – tip, ring, and sleeve. Some connectors only have a tip and a sleeve – some have a tip, a ring, and a sleeve – and some have a tip, two rings, and a sleeve.

In order for a cable to carry a signal, it needs to form a complete electrical circuit between the source and the destination. A complete circuit consists of at least two wires. Each section of the connector is connected to a conductive pathway that runs through the cable.

The unique configuration of each connector gives it the ability to transmit different types of signals. That could mean balanced or unbalanced signals, mono or stereo signals, or even bi-directional signals.

Let’s take a closer look at each type of connector and its common uses.

This is a TS connector. TS stands for Tip-Sleeve.

The two conductive sections provide two connections, meeting the minimum requirement for creating an electrical circuit between the source and destination.

¼-inch TS connectors have two common applications – instrument cables and speaker cables.

¼-inch instrument cables consist of a signal wire surrounded by a shield and are used to carry unbalanced signals. I recommend this instrument cable by RapcoHorizon.

¼-inch speaker cables look exactly the same from the outside, but there is a big difference – a speaker cable consists of two identical wires with no shield. I recommend this speaker cable by RapcoHorizon.

Watch this video to learn more about the difference between ¼-inch instrument cables and speaker cables.

3.5mm TS connectors are relatively rare, but I have seen them. They are usually found on consumer microphones or infrared control systems.

Here is a high-quality 3.5mm TS cable on Amazon.

This is a TRS connector. TRS stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve.

This connector has three sections, which indicates that three pathways run through the cable.

¼-inch TRS cables are most commonly used to carry balanced signals. They consist of two signal wires and a shield.

I recommend this RapcoHorizon 1/4-inch TRS balanced line cable.

To learn how balanced signals work, read this post I wrote about balanced and unbalanced signals.

3.5mm TRS cables are usually used to carry stereo signals, which means they carry both a left signal and a right signal.

The Tip and Ring carry the left and the right signal, while the sleeve connects to a third conductor. This third conductor provides a common pathway that completes both the left and the right circuit.

If a TRS cable is used to transmit a stereo signal, the signal is unbalanced.

This is a good 3.5mm TRS stereo male-to-male cable. It allows you to connect a device to an auxiliary input.

This is a TRRS connector. TRRS stands for Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve.

This connector has four sections, which allow for four connections between the connected devices.

¼-inch TRRS cables are very rare. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one.

3.5mm TRRS cables are very common. They are typically used for headphones that have a built-in microphone.

The four connections allow for a left and a right speaker as well as a microphone. In this case, all three of these circuits are completed by a common pathway.

To extend headphone cables with TRRS connectors, I recommend a cable like this 3.5mm TRRS headphone (with microphone) extension cable.

Hemky MacMurray · Answer

Wired music listening should be straightforward: insert the headphone plug into the jack, and you’re good to go.

However, that’s not always the case. Without knowing how jacks and plugs work, you may experience a mismatch, introducing some sound quality issues. Unfortunately, this topic is full of unfamiliar terms, numbers, and complex diagrams that anyone can easily get lost in.

Overcoming this technical concept should be easy with a comprehensive cheat sheet. For this reason, we’ve created a guide to help you learn how jacks and plugs work and how they relate to your headphones’ performance. Read on!

Simply put, the “headphone jack” is the port into which you plug your headphones. Sometimes, this is also called a phone jack, an audio jack, or AUX input.

The “plug,” on the other hand, is the part at the end of your headphones’ cable that you stick into the jack.

Jacks and plugs are assigned genders, as per the Association of Electrical & Mechanical Trades. The “jack” is the “female connector,” while the “plug” is the “male connector.”

Unfortunately, the audio industry has yet to unite on the distinctions between plugs and jacks. As such, you’ll often find “plug” and “jack” mistakenly used interchangeably.

In more technical terms, the headphone jack and plug are electrical connectors. Both transmit analog audio signals between your headphones and an audio source.

The metal pin of the headphone plug has conductors that help transmit audio signals. These conductors come in a gold, nickel, or brass finish, offering varying durability levels.

In contrast, the jack is a hollow barrel lined with conductors.

The number of wires inside your headphones’ cable matches the number of conductors on their plug. So, two wires have two conductors, three wires have three conductors, and so on.

This, in turn, corresponds to the conductors in the jack. When you insert a plug into a compatible jack, all conductors should line up perfectly, allowing the audio signal to pass through.

Conductors are the contact points between the plug and the jack, which close the circuit. All headphone plugs, regardless of their size, have conductors. Some plugs have only two conductors, while others have as many as five.

As mentioned in the previous section, compatibility is a significant factor for conductors.

If a mismatch occurs between the conductors on the plug and jack, they won’t line up and make complete contact. This incompatibility can then cause some signals to override others, thus interfering with specific functions of your headphones. In other cases, mismatches can also trigger an electrical short.

The different headphone plug conductors have specific names, which are:

All headphone plugs have a tip and sleeve. What differentiates each plug is the number of rings. For instance, plugs with one ring are 3-conductor plugs, while those with no rings are 2-conductor plugs.

The terminology for these different combinations is as follows:

As previously mentioned, the number of conductors indicates how many wires are inside the headphones’ cable. Each of those wires is connected to a specific conductor and carries a different signal.

So, which signals go to which conductor?

Generally speaking, the wiring schemes for conductors usually look something like this:

However, manufacturers can choose to configure jacks and plugs in various ways.

But one thing remains constant regardless of the configuration: both must be complementary.

That said, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with plug conductor configurations to avoid functional errors in your audio devices. To help with this, we’ll break down each format and explain its uses:

Available Connectors: Tip, sleeve, and one insulating band

Connectors’ Connection:

A TS configuration is relatively straightforward. The tip connector carries the audio signal, while the sleeve acts as a return path and ground.

However, since the ground is a reference point for the signal, it can pick up interference noises like an antenna. The longer the cable, the higher chance it’ll pick up more noise.

Common Usage: You can find TS connectors mainly with guitars, instruments, and applications that do not require a long cable connection.

Available Connectors: Tip, sleeve, and one ring connector with two insulating bands

Connectors’ Connection:

Adding a ring conductor (R) opens up different possibilities, such as support for balanced mono signals and unbalanced stereo signals.

As the “Unbalanced Mono” column shows, the engineer can make the additional conductor carry a microphone signal instead. In cases like these, wherein the audio is unbalanced, we can refer to this as a single-ended plug.

Common Usage: These are the most common jack connectors; you’ll often see them on the end of most stock headphone cables.

Available Connectors: Tip, sleeve, and two ring connectors with three insulating bands.

Connectors’ Connection:

Aside from transmitting stereo audio signals, the TRRS plug also has a dedicated conductor for a microphone. However, its position in the line-up varies depending on whether it follows the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) or Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) standards.

As such, this connection configuration is also called the CTIA or OMTP TRRS jack connector format.

For instance, the CTIA format transmits left and right audio channels through the tip and first ring. The second ring then acts as the ground, while the sleeve handles the mic signal. This format is common on newer smartphones, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.

Like CTIA, the OMTP format sends audio signals through the tip and first ring. However, the conductors for the ground and mic are flipped around. This format is more prevalent among older phone models from Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and China-marketed products.

Common Usage: New and old smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and some laptops.

Available Connectors: Tip, sleeve, and three-ring connectors with four insulating bands

Connectors’ Connection:

TRRRS connectors have five conductors that support balanced stereo signals.

XLR connectors (3 pins, 4 pins, and 5 pins) are similar in that regard. However, they only have pins instead of tips, rings, and sleeves.

With this setup, each audio channel gets a dedicated conductor, allowing it to transmit clearer signals. So, it’s no surprise that when balanced headphone connections grew in popularity, the XLR became the go-to solution.

As for mobile devices, the additional ring on the TRRRS plug ensures compatibility with newer products that feature multiple microphones or other audio functions like active noise cancellation.

Common Usage: You’ll find TRRRS plugs often used in professional sound and music production settings.

Available Connectors: Eight pins

Connectors’ Connection:

Smartphone companies have been letting go of the trusty headphone jack in favor of thinner smartphone builds. In its place, you have digital connectors like Lightning and USB (A and C).

Lightning, Apple’s proprietary connector, features eight conductor pins and four processor chips that help route signals to where they need to go.

When it comes to audio, this is transmitted as digital signals, then converted into analog signals by the DAC (digital-to-analog converter) in your headphones.

Aside from music, Lightning also carries digital data (video, photos, etc.) and supplies power to charge other Apple devices.

Common Usage: You can find Lightning connectors on various Apple products, from Macbooks to EarPods.

Available Connectors: Twenty-four pins (USB-C) and four pins (USB-A)

Connectors’ Connection:

For USB-C:

For USB-A:

USB plugs (A and C) are standard digital connectors for headphones. Both, however, are vastly different in terms of size and configuration.

The larger USB-A plugs have four conductor pins, whereas the smaller Type-C plugs have twelve.

Like Lightning connectors, USB connectors transmit digital audio signals, transfer digital data, and supply power. But, the USB-C functions at a much higher and faster rate, thanks to a heftier power capacity of 100 watts.

Common Usage: Aside from headphones, you’ll also find USB A and C connectors on computer peripherals such as printers, smart TVs, scanners, keyboards, external hard drives, and more.

Headphone jacks and plugs come in different sizes, and it’s essential to have a basic understanding of these differences to ensure compatibility between your audio devices.

Common size configurations for jacks and plugs are 3.5mm, 2.5mm, and 6.35mm. The 3.5mm jack, in particular, is practically universal for headphones and audio gear and thus is considered the standard headphone jack size.

That said, here’s a closer look at the different headphone jack sizes and their functions:

Otherwise known as a “miniature” or “mini” connector, the 3.5mm plug often comes in TS, TRS, or TRRS configurations. It readily outputs mono and stereo audio, plus video. You can find this type of connector on a wide range of headphones, mobile devices, portable media players, video recorders, etc.

If you need a 3.5mm cable, here are some good ones:

Sometimes called a “sub-miniature” or “sub-mini,” the 2.5mm plug is a smaller version of the 3.5mm plug. Functionally, both are the same. The 2.5mm plug also comes in TRS and TRRS configurations and outputs mono and stereo audio.

The difference is that these plugs and jacks are primarily found on headsets with microphones, two-way radios, TTY devices, and landline phones.

If you’re looking for a 3.5mm to 2.5mm cable, here are a couple to consider:

The 6.35mm plug, or ¼-inch connector, is this list’s largest and oldest connector. They were traditionally used as old-school telephone connectors and come in TS or TRS configurations.

Today, people use 6.35mm connectors mainly with professional audio equipment such as amplifiers, mixing consoles, audio interfaces, and musical instruments.

These are some examples of 6.35mm connectors:

Since headphone plugs and jacks are responsible for transmitting audio signals, they can:

Before we delve into how this happens, let’s first tackle two basic concepts regarding transmitted signals between headphones and audio sources.

There are two types of signals transmitted from an audio source to headphones: monaural (mono) and stereophonic (stereo.)

Stereo signals simulate “natural” hearing by creating the impression of sound coming from different directions. They do this by using two separate audio channels in each speaker, also called the “surround-sound” effect.

Mono signals, on the other hand, use only one audio channel and reproduce sounds only heard from one direction.

So, how do headphone jacks and plugs affect sound quality?

Again, it all goes back to compatibility. For instance, mismatched plugs and jacks will result in an incomplete circuit, leaving you with no sound. Similarly, if you hook up a stereo plug to a mono output jack, you will likely only hear sound from the left audio channel.

Balanced audio is all about interconnecting audio equipment and transmitting signals in a “balanced” manner. To do that, you need an audio source (amplifier) that can produce balanced output and a cable capable of carrying that balanced output.

A balanced output has two signal phases (or a hot and cold signal) per channel. Each phase has an equal impedance relative to the ground, hence the name “balanced.”

A balanced mono cable typically has at least three conductors (TRS) – two to carry the left and right audio signals to the headphones and one for the ground. In contrast, a balanced stereo cable has at least five conductors (TRRRS) – four to carry both negative (cold) and positive (hot) audio channels and one for the ground.

The advantage of balanced connections over unbalanced connections is the canceling of noise interference via Common Mode Rejection (CMR).

Any noise interference that hits the two balanced phases in the cable is imprinted equally on them. The receiving equipment (such as headphones) only cares about the difference between the phases.

So, interference that adds equally to both phases creates no difference between them and is canceled out when the amplifier recombines them. This process of canceling noise while preserving the original sound is known as CMR.

As such, balanced cables can run longer than unbalanced cables and operate in noisier environments because they can cancel out any noise interference.

When the requirements for balanced audio are not met, the audio is considered unbalanced.

For example:

With the above two concepts, you should now know that you can send four signal types from the output (amplifier, for example) via a cable to a pair of headphones.

Here’s how audio signals flow with each type of output:

Whether a signal can be fully supported or not depends on the number of conductors on the plug.

That said, here’s a quick chart on what you need to get balanced audio:

You’re not alone! The technicalities can be hard to digest when reading all this for the first time. The part about stereo audio using two channels and balanced audio needing two copies of the same signal with reverse polarity tripped me up, too.

An easy way to understand is by first acknowledging the bottom line – that you need conductors to send and carry signals.

For example, if you want to send a balanced stereo signal, you’ll need:

In total, you’ll need four signal wires and one ground wire which only a TRRRS connector can provide.

Thus, if a jack with an inadequate connector is used (like a TRS connector), the headphones won’t receive the complete set of signals to perform CMR. Hence, the entire audio connection becomes unbalanced.

As you saw in the previous section, audio issues can occur due to incorrect or incompatible plug configurations. Moreover, these issues can also arise from external causes like dirt or damage.

Here’s a closer look at the other headphone jack and plug factors that affect sound quality:

The internal mechanism of the headphone jack includes two clamps designed to push down on either side of the headphone plug.

When inserted, these clamps are firm enough to keep the plug steady and centered. This ensures the conductors of the jack and plug are in constant contact. However, they also have a decent amount of springiness that lets you easily insert and pull out the plug.

The simplicity of this design means that these clamps can become loose over time, especially if you’re constantly yanking and reinserting your audio cable. As such, you end up with a loose headphone jack that causes static interference in your audio.

Headphone jacks accumulate dirt over time simply because it’s too easy for dust and lint to enter and get stuck inside the jack. Too much dirt can eventually obstruct the conductors, leading to static noise, muffled sound quality, and other audio issues while using your headphones.

Although made of metal, headphone plugs can still easily bend or break if you accidentally rip them out hard enough. Doing so can result in irreparable damage that will cause audio issues in your headphones.

Essentially, a bent headphone plug means its conductors are out of alignment. As such, you won’t achieve proper contact with the headphone jack conductors. And because the audio signal can’t be transmitted fully, you may only hear sound from one speaker, hear static, or have a low volume.

Let’s see if you can put our newfound skills to good use.

Remember the “3 pole plug” term mentioned earlier in the article? What does it mean?

3 Pole Mini

Answer: 3.5mm TRS jack

Stereo Mini

Answer: 3.5mm TRS jack (Bonus Qns: why do we think it is TRS and not TS?)

3.5mm single-ended cable

Answer: 3.5mm TRS jack (Bonus Qns: Is this a balanced cable?)

2.5mm balanced cable

Answer: 2.5mm TRS jack that can carry balanced signals

Can you see the two outputs on the FiiO Q5? One with a headphone logo and another with a “BAL” sign. What does that mean?

Lastly, another practice question:

See if you can read the “Headphone Output” specifications of the Sony TA-ZH1ES and understand their meaning.

If you do, congratulations! You just leveled up your audiophile knowledge.

Sharbani Zimmerman · Answer