You are on page 1of 9

Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.

au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Your Cart is Empty!

On Sale! Articles & Blog Help & Support Contact Us Receive Newsletter Log In

Computer & AV Cables Search Products:


HDMI Cable
TOSLINK Cable
Digital Coaxial Audio Cable
Component to VGA Cable Category: Technology Guides
Component Video Cable Tags: Audio Cables, Tech Guides
3.5mm Audio Jack Cable
2 RCA Stereo Audio Cable
Written on 13thFeb,2014 by Cable Chick Share this Blog on
RCA / AV Cable
S-Video Cable
SCART Cable
Subwoofer Cable
TV Antenna Cable
Speaker Cable

1z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Computer Cables Blog Categories


Computer Cables Latest Blog Articles
VGA Cable
DisplayPort Cable How To Guides
DVI Cable Latest Products
DVI to VGA Cable
Technology Guides
HDMI to DVI Cable
USB Cable
Firewire 1394 Cable
PC Network Cable (RJ45) Recently Viewe
Fibre Optic Patch Cable
SATA/eSATA Cable AV Inputs & Outpu
PC Power Leads Understanding the F
PS/2 Cable Signals
Serial Cable 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ra
Pro Audio Cables you need to know...
Product Launch - S
Pro Audio Cables
Aluminium Folding T
Guitar Lead
Stand
Microphone Lead
MIDI Cable Learn about the varieties of audio jack and how to identify them, plus discover why one Product Launch - E
1/4" Speaker Lead TRRS cable won't work for all your AV needs. Gaming Accessories
Speakon Cable
Product Launch - iP
XLR Adapters
6 & Samsung Galaxy
Switches & Splitters Plug or Socket? Cases

AV Switches We know them. We love them. They've been around since before the rst Walkman and HDMI Audio outpu
AV Splitters Windows and Mac
they'll stay for a long time to come. Over the years, the general public have come to refer to
AV Extenders & Repeaters
AV Signal Converters both the male and female of the species as an 'Audio Jack', even though this is not
Ethernet PC Network Switch technically correct.
Most Popular

2z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Speakers & Headphones To keep things easy, we'll use the term plug for male and socket for female whenever we Going The Distance
need to be specic, and we'll pretend jack is genderless. Guide to Maximum
Speakers Lengths
Headphones
Speaker Stands Identify your Audio Plug What Are Power B
and How Do They W
Speaker Wire
Once upon a time, what we now see as stereo jacks or headphone sockets were used in the
Mounts & Brackets AV Inputs & Outpu
telephone switchboards of the 19th century. Now, we have three main sizes measured by Understanding the F
All Mounts & Brackets their diameter; 6.5mm, 3.5mm and 2.5mm, plus three major plug congurations: Signals
TV Wall Mounts
What you need to
Monitor Wall Mounts
Desk Mounts about Active vs Pass
Ceiling Mounts cables, switches &
Projector Brackets splitters
Speaker Mounts & Stands VGA Expose: Every
Phone & Tablet Mounts there is to know abo
AV Wall Plates VGA
How to Calibrate y
AV Wall Plates
or Projector - The Ea
Basic Wall Plates
Way!
Amped Wall Plates
Speaker Wall Plates
Ethernet RJ45 Wall Plates
USB Wall Plates
T = Tip, R = Ring, S = Sleeve
Popular Blog Ta
Wall Plate Package Deals
These days it's generally easier and more accurate to refer to each type by their Tip/Ring HDMI
Adapters & Connectors /Sleeve conguration to avoid any misunderstanding, especially when balanced audio is
Home Theatre
Adapters taken into account. This description works for all three sizes, so don't be put o that our
Full HD 1080p
Optical Adapter diagrams show 3.5mm and not 6.5mm...
SCART Adapter Audio Cables
VGA Adapter
XLR Adapter
Professional-grade audio leads used for live performances sometimes have their own sets AV Splitters

Audio Jack Adapter of rules (balanced/unbalanced/powered). In this article, we're only discussing unbalanced or

3z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

RCA Adapter 'general' use audio jacks. UltraHD 4K x 2K


S-Video Adapter
USB Adapter
Couplers & Joiners Stereo Plus Microphone
SmartPhone & Tablet PC's Even now, the most common place to nd an audio jack is on your MP3 player or personal
Tablet & Phone Cases computer. Just plug in your headphones and o you go. Both mono and stereo audio have
Apple Cables been standardised for a long time to ensure equipment compatibility between analogue
Apple Accessories systems - even when adapted to RCA.
Android Accessories
Windows Tablet In the socket, the contacts which touch the plug haven't moved, and they're always
Accessories connected (from top to bottom) as Left, Right, Ground in the case of a stereo jack.
Other Goodies
When it came time to add in a microphone channel, things went a little pear-shaped
Wireless Products because there were two schools of thought on how to wire up the connections. One called
Memory Cards & Storage
Gaming Gear
CTIA, and another known as OMTP. Some manufacturers chose to change the socket in
Telephone Cable (RJ12) order to make the sleeve contact as the ground line (OMTP), while others chose to leave the
Cable Management ground contact where it was and squeeze the new channel in on the sleeve (CITA).
Media Players
Car Cables & Accessories
Travel Accessories
Cable Chick Gear
Avencore Products
Power Products
Power Banks
Power Cables
Power Socket Adapters
AV Powerboards
Customer Testimonial
I was very happy with

4z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

your service. Couldn't fault it As you can see from the above diagram, there was a benet to keeping the ground contact
and will use your website
position unchanged, and this is the solution we see most often in headsets for personal
again & recommend it to
others. computers, iPhones and many other smartphone and tablet brands. This was arguably the
Carol, VIC 'rst' standard.

Camcorders and Video Breakout Leads


Microphone audio wasn't the only type of signal this new contact could carry, and with the
miniaturisation of cameras and camcorders, analogue audio and video output was soon
upon us in the form of TRRS to 3RCA breakout cables.

Again, without a set standard, the pinouts inside the female socket from one manufacturer
to the next could change. A Sony camcorder wasn't likely to work with a Panasonic AV
breakout lead, because they didn't wire up the same way.

In some cases, you could swap the RCA ends around and still get picture and audio, but not
always. And if the manufacturer moved the ground contact, things came unstuck anyway.

5z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Why move the ground contact? If a manufacturer changed the pinouts, they prevented
competitor and aftermarket accessories from working with their devices, possibly with the
intent of forcing the consumer to buy 'the real thing'. You can thank the big brands for that
one!

Mixing Plugs and Sockets


As you might imagine, plugging a TRS plug into a TRRS socket or vice-versa will result in an
electrical short between one channel and ground. For the most part, a short like this isn't a
great concern:

Find us on Google+

The diagram above shows a regular pair of earbuds plugged into an iPhone TRRS socket.
This is perfectly safe and acceptable - you won't be able to make 'hands-free' voice calls, but
you won't damage anything either. This also works for Android phones and many other
devices.

Problems can emerge when mixing cables where the ground contact is not on the rst ring.

6z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Nokia phones, Panasonic camcorders and portable/in-car DVD players have had their
ground and video pinouts moved around in the past, so care must be taken to avoid
damage when working with special equipment or trying to connect dierent types of
product together. This is dicult when the cables look identical, but are wired dierently. You
don't want to send a lot of power over a shorted circuit.

Solutions
Unfortunately there is no universal one-shot product which can work with all devices, and
it's impossible to see inside the female socket to know where the wires go.

When it comes to camcorders, the best practice is to seek an ocial accessory from the
manufacturer or look for an aftermarket AV breakout lead which specically lists your
model of camera as compatible. We carry only a basic 3.5mm to 3RCA lead, and it isn't
universally compatible.

For stereo and microphone headsets, things are much easier. At most you might need to
split a TRRS out into separate stereo and microphone plugs to suit your laptop or computer.
We have one of those baby's right here: 10cm 4-Pole TRRS to 3.5mm Stereo & Microphone
Adapter. Alternatively, an OMTP/CTIA adapter can bridge the gap between a stereo headset
and the wrong brand of smartphone. We stock a bi-directional TRRS Standards Adapter for
going between CTIA and OMTP or vice/versa.

Still stuck?
Understanding TRRS as a format is only half the battle. Learning exactly what you need for a
specic device can be much trickier. If you have questions or comments about TRRS or our
available products, please ll out the form on our Contact page.

7z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

<< PREVIOUS ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE >>

Product Launch - Premium Product Launch - Brushed-Entry


Bluetooth Wireless Speaker and Bullnose Wall Plates

8z9 2017-02-08 21:05


Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/

Join Affiliate Program Testimonials Write a Review Articles Terms of Service Privacy Policy Returns Policy Price List Sitemap Home

Copyright 2006-2017 Cable Chick. All Rights Reserved. All Prices in $AUD Dollars and include 10% GST

9z9 2017-02-08 21:05

You might also like