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I use the 3.5mm jack to send audio out to my car stereo (which is up to date enough to have a 3.5mm input but not up to date enough to have Bluetooth input), an

by cwyers 10y ago

I use the 3.5mm jack to send audio out to my car stereo (which is up to date enough to have a 3.5mm input but not up to date enough to have Bluetooth input), and it's a pain in the rear, and I go through five or six cables a year. I'm not sure 3.5mm audio is the hill we all need to die on in the war against the march of technology.

cm2187 10y ago
Logical conclusion, you should buy a new Apple-approved car to fit the new iphone ports.
- throwanem 10y ago
  You already can: http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/
Daishiman 10y ago
Bude, buy cables that are not total crap. I DJ and I go through cables like no one's business but my home setup has had the same cables for years and they only cost me a couple more bucks than the bottom-tier stuff.
- cwyers 10y ago
  If you have a "not crap cable" recommendation I'd love to hear it, but at the same time, I suspect your home setup doesn't involve plugging something into a jack and then removing it quite as many times a day as plugging a phone into a car stereo.
  - sethhochberg 10y ago
    TS connectors were literally designed for telephone switchboards that are connected and disconnected on a near-constant basis. Consumer audio companies happily sell plastic garbage in fancy colors without strain relief, any compensation for compression and wear on the cable itself, and with low-grade connectors... but these are solved problems in the professional world. If you're a heavy user, buy a cable intended for professional use. As an example, look at these: https://www.amazon.com/Mogami-Stereo-Cable-3-5mm-Neutrik/dp/B00SQLPO1U https://www.amazon.com/Mogami-Stereo-Cable-3-5mm-Neutrik/dp/... http://www.markertek.com/product/msc1-5mzmz/mogami-audio-cable-3-5mm-trs-male-to-3-5mm-trs-male-1-5-foot-black http://www.markertek.com/product/msc1-5mzmz/mogami-audio-cab... Mogami specializes in entertainment-grade cable which is often certified to be waterproof, crushproof, oil resistant, UV resistant, etc. The connectors used are from Neutrik, who are also highly reputable. In the event that something goes wrong the parts are usually hand-repairable, and often you can find cable/connector assemblies carrying lifetime warranties. Other reputable names to look for are Belden and Carnare on the cable side and Switchcraft on the connector side.
  - Domenic_S 10y ago
    The trick is to pull the cable by the plug and not by the cable. I've got a few of these $5 cables for different applications and they're great. Smile link: https://smile.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B004LTEUDO/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2461293702?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ie=UTF8 https://smile.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Stereo-Audio-Cabl...
mikeash 10y ago
If you actually want Bluetooth, you can buy inexpensive dongles that receive BT and output on a 3.5mm audio jack, which you could run off your 12V plug and keep permanently in the car. Just thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware and it's something you might be interested in.
- imgabe 10y ago
  In my neighborhood leaving something visibly plugged into the cigarette lighter in your car is a sign saying "Please break my window and look for electronics to steal"
  - milesokeefe 10y ago
    Lots of cars have a cigarette lighter in the center console away from view.
  - Unklejoe 10y ago
    You can always hard wire it and hide it behind the dash board.
    - monknomo 10y ago
      So now instead of just plugging something into the car radio, we ought to solder (!) in a bodge to listen to phone music. Doesn't that strike you as over engineering a solved problem?
      - mikeash 10y ago
        That depends on how badly you want Bluetooth and how comfortable you are doing this sort of work. Nobody is saying you have to do it, just that you can if you want to.
        monknomo 10y ago
        I think the question is not how much you want bluetooth, but how much you want to play songs on your phone over your car stereo. In the current world you can often plug your phone into your car by a 3.5mm jack and play music. In the brave new world, you can plug a bluetooth dongle into your car's cigarette lighter and 3.5mm jack, pair your phone and then listen to music. If needed, you have the "option" of hiding this awful mess under the dashboard and hard wiring it. It sounds worse than cassette adapters to me, but I am not a phone manufacturer, so I can't do much more than bitch on the internet :)
rplst8 10y ago
The quality of the cables you buy and how you treat them is an idependent issue from that of the 3.5mm jack. I've had more iPod and phone charger cables (read - digital cables akin to what a new headphone jack would use) die than I've had straight analog audio cables die.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> I use the 3.5mm jack to send audio out to my car stereo (which is up to date enough to have a 3.5mm input but not up to date enough to have Bluetooth input), and it's a pain in the rear, and I go through five or six cables a year. Dude, what are you doing? I've been using one cable for several years for exactly that purpose, and it was a nothing-special cable I got, IIRC, at a drug store. I go through phones more often than I go through 3.5mm cables.
- mschuster91 10y ago
  Probably either parent himself or his/her s/o is a "car tidyness" fetishist, and nothing will kill a cheap cable faster than winding and unwinding it every day.
- Macha 10y ago
  Indeed. Apple cables, micro USB cables, even HDMI cables have all failed for me more often than 3.5mm cables. Even my earphones last like 1-2 years, and they get a ton of abuse
Unklejoe 10y ago
I have a 3.5mm cable that originally came with my Sega Genesis that still works fine. I've used it for all sorts of things throughout my life. If you are going through six cables per year, you are doing something wrong. Even the cheapest cable from eBay should last longer than that provided you aren't also using it as a jump rope.

by cwyers 10y ago

cm2187 10y ago

Logical conclusion, you should buy a new Apple-approved car to fit the new iphone ports.

throwanem 10y ago
You already can: http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/

Daishiman 10y ago

Bude, buy cables that are not total crap. I DJ and I go through cables like no one's business but my home setup has had the same cables for years and they only cost me a couple more bucks than the bottom-tier stuff.

cwyers 10y ago
If you have a "not crap cable" recommendation I'd love to hear it, but at the same time, I suspect your home setup doesn't involve plugging something into a jack and then removing it quite as many times a day as plugging a phone into a car stereo.
- sethhochberg 10y ago
  TS connectors were literally designed for telephone switchboards that are connected and disconnected on a near-constant basis. Consumer audio companies happily sell plastic garbage in fancy colors without strain relief, any compensation for compression and wear on the cable itself, and with low-grade connectors... but these are solved problems in the professional world. If you're a heavy user, buy a cable intended for professional use. As an example, look at these: https://www.amazon.com/Mogami-Stereo-Cable-3-5mm-Neutrik/dp/B00SQLPO1U https://www.amazon.com/Mogami-Stereo-Cable-3-5mm-Neutrik/dp/... http://www.markertek.com/product/msc1-5mzmz/mogami-audio-cable-3-5mm-trs-male-to-3-5mm-trs-male-1-5-foot-black http://www.markertek.com/product/msc1-5mzmz/mogami-audio-cab... Mogami specializes in entertainment-grade cable which is often certified to be waterproof, crushproof, oil resistant, UV resistant, etc. The connectors used are from Neutrik, who are also highly reputable. In the event that something goes wrong the parts are usually hand-repairable, and often you can find cable/connector assemblies carrying lifetime warranties. Other reputable names to look for are Belden and Carnare on the cable side and Switchcraft on the connector side.
- Domenic_S 10y ago
  The trick is to pull the cable by the plug and not by the cable. I've got a few of these $5 cables for different applications and they're great. Smile link: https://smile.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B004LTEUDO/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2461293702?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ie=UTF8 https://smile.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Stereo-Audio-Cabl...

mikeash 10y ago

If you actually want Bluetooth, you can buy inexpensive dongles that receive BT and output on a 3.5mm audio jack, which you could run off your 12V plug and keep permanently in the car. Just thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware and it's something you might be interested in.

imgabe 10y ago
In my neighborhood leaving something visibly plugged into the cigarette lighter in your car is a sign saying "Please break my window and look for electronics to steal"
- milesokeefe 10y ago
  Lots of cars have a cigarette lighter in the center console away from view.
- Unklejoe 10y ago
  You can always hard wire it and hide it behind the dash board.
  - monknomo 10y ago
    So now instead of just plugging something into the car radio, we ought to solder (!) in a bodge to listen to phone music. Doesn't that strike you as over engineering a solved problem?
    - mikeash 10y ago
      That depends on how badly you want Bluetooth and how comfortable you are doing this sort of work. Nobody is saying you have to do it, just that you can if you want to.
      - monknomo 10y ago
        I think the question is not how much you want bluetooth, but how much you want to play songs on your phone over your car stereo. In the current world you can often plug your phone into your car by a 3.5mm jack and play music. In the brave new world, you can plug a bluetooth dongle into your car's cigarette lighter and 3.5mm jack, pair your phone and then listen to music. If needed, you have the "option" of hiding this awful mess under the dashboard and hard wiring it. It sounds worse than cassette adapters to me, but I am not a phone manufacturer, so I can't do much more than bitch on the internet :)

rplst8 10y ago

The quality of the cables you buy and how you treat them is an idependent issue from that of the 3.5mm jack. I've had more iPod and phone charger cables (read - digital cables akin to what a new headphone jack would use) die than I've had straight analog audio cables die.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> I use the 3.5mm jack to send audio out to my car stereo (which is up to date enough to have a 3.5mm input but not up to date enough to have Bluetooth input), and it's a pain in the rear, and I go through five or six cables a year. Dude, what are you doing? I've been using one cable for several years for exactly that purpose, and it was a nothing-special cable I got, IIRC, at a drug store. I go through phones more often than I go through 3.5mm cables.

mschuster91 10y ago
Probably either parent himself or his/her s/o is a "car tidyness" fetishist, and nothing will kill a cheap cable faster than winding and unwinding it every day.
Macha 10y ago
Indeed. Apple cables, micro USB cables, even HDMI cables have all failed for me more often than 3.5mm cables. Even my earphones last like 1-2 years, and they get a ton of abuse

Unklejoe 10y ago

I have a 3.5mm cable that originally came with my Sega Genesis that still works fine. I've used it for all sorts of things throughout my life. If you are going through six cables per year, you are doing something wrong. Even the cheapest cable from eBay should last longer than that provided you aren't also using it as a jump rope.