These plugs have three pins, one for the left channel, one for the right, and one for ground.
This basic plug only delivers one channel of sound to both the left and right earbud. Each plug has to have at least two pins (and therefore, at least one ring to separate them): one section to carry the signal, while the other to serve as a return path and ground, which helps to cancel out any distortion or interference the audio signal picks up along the way.Īs a result, you can tell a lot about headphones by looking at their plug. Made of a non-conductive material (typically plastic) these rings serve to divide the plug into the various different conductive sections, known as pins, that actually do the work.
