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mini plug vd regular plug ????

post #1 of 7
8/20/01 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
I wonder why headphones come with two kind of plugs, would it be easier if all headphones have the mini plug as a standard?
I know the most expensive headphones come with the standard plug, does it mean that the regular plug beats the mini plug in terms of sound quality, soundstage ?
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post #2 of 7
8/20/01 at 10:28pm
I think its more of a durability vs portability issue... I vastly prefer the 1/4" (standard) plug since it is durable and less likely to be bent... though for portable use, miniplug of course.
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post #3 of 7
8/20/01 at 10:33pm
The actual main reason that the 1/4" plug is superior to the 1/8" plug has to do with surface area. Since the 1/4" plug has a greater surface area than the 1/8" plug, the connection is firmer and I believe that there is better conductivity as well.
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post #4 of 7
8/20/01 at 10:57pm
Actually, i think the sound quality differences between different plugs is negligible, and certainly not the reason why they were designed like that...

Headphones were most common in recording/radio studios, where durability/ease of changing plugs is most important. So the 1/4" plugs gradually caught on as the standard in all audio equipment.

But when portables came around, they couldn't fit the large jack into the players, and the large plug was inconvenient. So they switched to the smaller 1/8" jacks. These are less durable, and very inconvenient for studio use, but they are better for portables...

The surface area doesn't have any (audiable) effect on the signal. The actual contact area is like <1mm thick, so a difference in surface area will have no effect on the overall conductivity of the headphone cord. But If there is oxidation or somthing on the plug, a plug with a larger surface area will be less likely to develop intermittancy problems. So you could say the 1/4" plugs are more reliable, but they don't sound better...

(and almost all high end headphones use the 1/8" plugs so it's pretty safe it does not degrade the sound quality...)
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post #5 of 7
8/20/01 at 11:55pm
Quote:
Originally posted by thomas
(and almost all high end headphones use the 1/8" plugs so it's pretty safe it does not degrade the sound quality...)
Almost all? Not a single Grado from the SR-125 up uses an 1/8" plug; neither does the Sennheiser HD 580 or HD600.
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post #6 of 7
8/20/01 at 11:59pm
Actually the Senns like most phones besides Grados have 1/8th to 1/4th adapter(comes attached in a seamless style, but a detachable adapter nonetheless).

By the surface area argument...that is actually worse than just listening to 1/8th adapter in first place since you are going through an adapter anyhow.

There are however more manufacturers of higher quality jacks and plugs (switchcraft, neutrik) for the studio 1/4th adapter style than there are for 1/8th. And I think the 1/4th stuff might be easier to solder cause the parts are larger.
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post #7 of 7
8/21/01 at 12:04am
And those 1/8"-to-1/4" adapters of those HD-5## Senns actually do a great job of concealing that original 1/8" miniplug, so if you snap the Senn HD-5## adapter on the Senn HD-5## headphones, and you let someone else look at the plug, they'll think the HD-5##'s have only a 1/4" plug!
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