[james902]

why do airlines have dual monos? i don't understand the concept or necessity for putting two holes in a seat. is there a benefit in using their two monos? is there any noise cancellation? i simply don't understand why they're built like that.

 

[usc goose]

it's kind of becoming an outdated technology i think. i figured they did that before so you'd have to rent/buy headsets from the airline to listen to music or watch the movie or whatever.

 

[averydonovan]

My guess is that it has to due with reliability and durability. An 1/8" connector is already a compromise for size but trades durability, and stereo 1/8" jacks are known to fail after a short while of continuous plugging and unplugging of a plug. A mono jack only has 2 connectors rather than the 3 of a stereo jack and I imagine their life is significantly longer than a stereo 1/8" jack's life is. But they could be transitioning to stereo jacks now, a United Airlines Boeing 777 I flew in a few years ago that had video screens in every seat had standard 1/8" stereo jacks.

 

[james902]

and i almost thought it was something special haahah.

 

[stereth]

I have a handful of the adaptors, but I've never personally seen a dual-1/8" setup in a plane. They've all been stereo jacks or, in one instance, what looked like air hose receptacles. Or nothing.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by usc goose it's kind of becoming an outdated technology i think. i figured they did that before so you'd have to rent/buy headsets from the airline to listen to music or watch the movie or whatever.

These days, it's more the flip side of that proposition, I think: they hand out the headsets to you for free, but with tags on them that say, basically, "This won't work on any of your own equipment, so don't bother stealing them." It reduces their losses through pilferage.

 

[usc goose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stereth ...what looked like air hose receptacles...

whoa, i remember those. i haven't seen those in like a decade.

 

[DanG]

On my flight from Tel Aviv to Newark on Continental, the flight attendants actually announced via the intercom that the headsets were a "gift" from them and for us to keep. I wonder what I'll do with those poor clip-on headphones, though my Koss KSC-35s did break on that flight.

 

[dd3mon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stereth what looked like air hose receptacles.

Those were hilarious. You rented what was basically a stethescope from them and it was purely moving air coming through the phones, no drivers or electricity at all! Maybe this is where the phrase "piped in sound" came from.

-dd3mon