| Phone plug | |
| Standard
audio connector.
Comes in stereo, tip/sleeve/ring and mono versions. Also in several diameters - 1/4, 1/8 (also known as “mini”) and 3/16th (or “Bantam”). Bantam plugs are used exclusively in patch bays - often those built-in to large mixing consoles. 1/8” plugs are usually found in consumer devices or very small units. Tip/sleeve/ring plugs (bottom right) are used for balanced connections in patch bays and are available in 1/4" and Bantam. T/S/R plugs are different from stereo plugs - the "ring" is not the same length. |
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| 1/4" phone plugs are commonly used in instruments (electric guitars, synthesizers, etc.) signal processors (reverbs, delays, compressors), for line level signals in mixers and amplifiers and generally throughout professional and semi-professional audio worlds for unbalanced signals. Aside from professional headphones, which use 1/4" stereo plugs, most balanced connections are made with xlr connectors or T/S/R. |