If you own a TV, chances are you might also have a sound-bar or extra speakers set up to enhance the audiovisual experience. If you've got a home studio that you use to make and record music, then it's likely you're running lots of different bits of kit. To hook up all of that gear, you obviously need cables. But what do you do when your cables don't match the ports you want to plug them into? The solution: an adapter cable or coupler.
RCA: Radio Corporation of America
You've no doubt seen RCA plugs and sockets before. They're round plugs with a short, centre-fitted pin and are also known as 'cinch' or 'phono' connectors. The name RCA stands for the American company that developed the connector back in 1940, namely the Radio Corporation of America. A single RCA cable can only carry mono sound, so practically all RCA cables are dual cables that are fitted with two plugs (or sockets) at either end that carry the left and right channels of stereo sound. To ease plugging them in, RCA plugs are usually colour-coded, where the white cable carries the left signal and the red cable carries the right.
Mini-Jack and Jack AUX Cables
AUX is an abbreviation you'll find on a lot of gear. It's short for auxiliary input, which technically means it's an additional port that can be used for all kinds of things. That said, AUX ports are usually either 3.5mm mini-jack ports or full-size 6.3mm jack ports. Mini-jack cables are often used in combination with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, while jack cables are the standard when it comes to connecting gear like instruments, mixers and active speakers. If you want to know whether you're looking at a mono or stereo jack cable, just look at the number of rings it has: one ring means mono, two rings means stereo. Want to know more about jack plugs and all of the flavours they come in? Check out our complete range of jack cables.
RCA to Jack Cables and Adapters
Instruments like synthesizers and keyboards are generally equipped with a jack port, so if you want to connect any to a mixer channel, it may be that you'll need a jack-to-RCA adapter in the form of either an actual cable or an RCA adapter plug housed inside a tiny plastic or metal unit. Jack to RCA adapters can be picked up in various forms, including mini-jack to RCA models.
Jack to RCA Cables: Other Uses
"I don't play any instrument. When would I even need an adapter cable?" Jack to RCA cables aren't uncommon in the world of audio since they're used to hook up all kinds of audio installations. In addition, they're used to connect gear that some of us use on a daily basis. Think connecting smartphones and tablets to amplifiers or speakers to play a custom play-list; hooking up a Chromecast to a TV or stereo system; and, of course, studio equipment. In short, jack to cinch cables come in handy all the time.
All Adapter Cables and Adapters at Bax Music
As you can tell, there are many different adapter cables and adapter plugs on the market, and we've only covered jack and RCA adapters so far. Beyond those, you'll find there are
jack-to-XLR
, jack-to-USB and
RCA-to-XLR
adapters to name a few. Whatever kind of adapter you need, you should always be able to find the right one in our massive assortment.
