Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output? | Stereophile.com

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October 24, 2007 - 7:14pm

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drtat

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Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output, i wonder whether a grados sr80 will work in a 3 conductor setting.

October 25, 2007 - 5:43am

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Jan Vigne

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

What sort of four conductor plug is this? I've never seen a four conductor 1/4" plug as most headphones use.

October 25, 2007 - 1:52pm

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Jeff Wong

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

I've seen 4 conductor plugs on CB radio microphones, but, not headphones. I wonder if the reference is actually to the "+" and "-" from the L and R channel of the headphones. On the tip/ring/sleeve 1/4" plug (the 3 conductor reference?), the L and R "-" leads will typically be soldered to the sleeve (ground), the R to the ring, and the L to the tip.

October 25, 2007 - 3:33pm

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drtat

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

well, this is their text"Built on the same features as the SR60, but utilizes a 4 conductor connecting cable..." so...would it work? or is it just fancy confusing language?

October 25, 2007 - 4:29pm

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bobedaone

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

I think in this case that Grado is referring to the wire, not the plug. A "four-conductor connecting cable" probably just means that the cable has an extra wire, and thus a higher total gauge. That's my guess.

October 25, 2007 - 5:06pm

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Elk

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

Many headphones are wired so that the left and right channel shares the same ground wire. This isn't the best however and an improvement can be realized by giving each channel its own path. I bet this is what the text is describing.

October 25, 2007 - 9:27pm

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drtat

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Re: Will a 4 conductor plug work in a 3 conductor output?

thanks