On a recent post, there were a lot of comments, which said that they were missing the headphones on newer mobile devices.

How many actually use the headphone jack?

I ask, because I have one on my phone, since I really wanted one, but I rarely use it. Like Tops 1/Month.

  • prole
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    511 months ago

    According to Wikipedia, ‘The original 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) version descends from as early as 1877’, and it’s been an industry standard since then.

    I could be mistaken, but I believe the modern headphone cable/jack is 1/8”.

    1/4" are the bigger ones like the size of a guitar cable.

    • @[email protected]
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      411 months ago

      When I was a kid, headphones had the beefy one associate with guitars. The smaller ones came out when Walkmans became popular. We called them mini-plugs and you’d buy an adapter to use them with older gear.

      Memories based on being born in early '70s. Possibly incorrect.

    • @[email protected]
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      111 months ago

      You’re correct. But you can use an adapter. Some headphones (especially more expensive ones) come with their own. And some devices (like my USB audio interface) come with a big jack for headphones, but again an adapter makes it irrelevant whether it’s a small jack or a large one.

      • @[email protected]
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        211 months ago

        If you’re gunna use an adapter anyway then it makes it irrelevant whether or not there’s a headphone jack in the phone. People in this thread talk about how you can’t use expensive wired headphones with your mobile devices anymore as if adapters don’t exist.

        • @[email protected]
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          111 months ago

          We’re not talking about the same thing here. First off a large jack to small jack adapter would be needed in rare circumstances, if you happen to use a pair of headphones that only uses a large jack with a small device like a phone, which obviously only has a small one.
          That whole large jack discussion was started because of the quote from Wikipedia I posted, where they mention just how old the jack is. I’m guessing you haven’t read the rest of the comments since you brought it up?

          2nd of all a jack adapter is just “wire”, it’s passive ( doesn’t have any circuitry), and doesn’t require any support.
          For a dongle type of adapter that’s quite different. Software and hardware and compatibility come into play.
          Lots of dongles have a DAC built into them which is separate from the phone DAC. It’s duplicating something you already have, and if your phone has a good one buit into it (which it should), the flimsy dongle most probably has a very cheap one.
          I have a dongle and it only works if I plug it in before taking calls. If I already answer and then use the dongle the sound won’t work out of the headphones so it’s useless…