Aside from worrying about what microphones we have available, the next most important thing was always to make sure their system can play our minus-ones<\/em> (if need be). This usually meant we had to conenct our iPods (cuz were high tech hahahaha joke) to the PA – and that’s were everything can get lost in translation. I remember the trouble we had in finding the correct plugs and jacks to connect whatever we<\/em> had, to whatever they<\/em> had. There were times I would say “yung malaki”<\/em> (the big one) when I referred to the 1\/4″ plug, or “pang-headphones”<\/em> (for headphones) when referring to a 2.5mm plug; just so I could make them understand the type of adaptor I wanted.<\/p>\n So with that, I’ve taken the liberty of distilling the long text from wikipedia articles and explain what you need to know to communicate what you need<\/em> to whichever venue sound-technician you talk to. There are a lot of alternative names for these common audio interconnects, and I will attempt to consolidate in one post, the different names used – which I’ve come across over time.<\/p>\n\n Before I begin, I’ll just assume some stuff so we don’t get confused.<\/p>\n While fairly obvious, I mention this because the more proper term “plug” is not often used anymore – like when talking about a 1\/4″ jack (which is male, so essentially it’s a plug). While such interchangeablitily of terminology is forgivable, for the purposes of this post, when I say jack<\/em> I mean the hole<\/strong> (jack) where the plug<\/em>… er… plugs<\/strong> in (or jacks-in).<\/p>\n Also, I will be limiting this to the really common<\/em> connectors (no specialized cables here)<\/p>\n Technically<\/em> this can already be considered as a specialized type of interconnect, since you rarely see these in a home environment. Still, it’s worth mentioning because once you go to a public place (or start a studio), and want to connect stuff into the mixer, you definitely will have to deal with these plugs\/jacks eventually<\/p>\n The good thing about The etymology of the term This is probably the most common and most confusing type of plug\/jack of all, since not only do we have alternative names for the jack plug,<\/em> but we also have different sized variations of it. I guess the easiest way relate the name to the different subsets it has is it’s purpose in history:<\/p>\n It was initially used by operators to literally to “jack-in” connections on telephone switchboards.<\/strong> So as far as purpose is concerned we have something that plugs in and out easily of a hole… hence all sizes\/variations are still similar in the sense that insulator rings aside, they all can be described as a single conductive plug.<\/em><\/p>\n The largest is the (Tele)phone plug,<\/strong> which obviously is the [original] size used in the historal example given above. Other names used to describe Jack Plugs of this size (that I’ve come across) are:<\/p>\n Next would be the Miniature plug,<\/strong> which is commonly used nowadays for consumer headphones – or anything that needs to plug into jacks on a constrained space (e.g. Laptops, portable players, computer sound cards, etc.) Other names used to describe Jack Plugs of this size (that I’ve come across) are:<\/p>\n Lastly, we have the Sub-miniature plug,<\/strong> which I rarely see, but whever I see it, it’s usually for cell-phone hands-free sets. Other names used to describe Jack Plugs of this size (that I’ve come across) are:<\/p>\n The term The tip and the ring is either used for left<\/em> and right<\/em> channel audio (for stereo), or<\/strong> the primary<\/em> and differential<\/em> signals (for monaural balanced output). The sleeve is used for the ground.<\/p>\n There can be more<\/em> divisions in the metal contact depending on how many currents\/signals you want to be able to transmit. A four conductor version is becoming a de facto standard output connector for compact camcorders, providing stereo sound plus a video signal.<\/p>\nSo we’re on the same page<\/h2>\n
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XLR<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/85\/212175084_9b7ee99660_t.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nXLR<\/code> interconnects is that its moniker is universally known; rarely will you find technicians that call XLR<\/code> interconnects as anything else. Maybe once in a blue moon they will refer them as microphone cables;<\/em> which can be misleading, but understandable since most [serious] mics indeed use the XLR<\/code> connectors.<\/p>\nXLR<\/code> comes from the fact that the design was based on the original Cannon X<\/em> connector. Where later versions added a latch (thusly called Cannon XL<\/strong><\/em>), then a R<\/strong>ubber compound surrounding the contacts. Voila XLR<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nJack Plugs<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/88\/212177918_6ec5056fc2_t.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTypes of jack plugs<\/h3>\n
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TRS<\/h3>\n
TRS<\/code> means Tip-Ring-Sleeve<\/em>, and is applicable to any jack plug size (as seen in the picture). All it means is that the metal contacts are divided into 3 sections. The tip, the ring and the sleeve (duh). These types of connectors are used for stereo or balanced applications.<\/p>\nRCA<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/89\/212175082_de89216416_t.jpg\")
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