What kind of hardware jack does my Sleek Audio SA1 headphones use?

December 10, 2009 5:44 AM

Help me identify this audio jack.

I purchased a pair of Sleek Audio SA1 headphones recently, partially because they come with a replaceable cord. Problem is, the tiny plug it uses seems to be some kind of secret, and me no likey proprietary hardware. I figure it must be some kind of common connector, but don't know enough to identify it on sight or know what to search for. You can see examples here and here. It's very small, much smaller than a normal headphone plug. The male plug has a hole in the middle (hee hee), and the female jack (in the earbud) has a smooth metal prong that fits in the middle of the male jack (hee hee). It's not just a plug-in-a-hole like a normal headphone jack.

Any ideas? And, thanks!

posted by SamuelF to technology (5 answers total)

During the day, it works as a power jack.
posted by popcassady at 5:48 AM on December 10, 2009

You may be able to find another plug from the local RadioShack in the power supply section. They sell their replacement power packs without a plug tip so you can pick out the one of about 20 that they have. Two of those, a cheap pair of headphones to destroy, and some handy work with a soldering iron could make you a replacement cord.
posted by metroidhunter at 5:59 AM on December 10, 2009

Interesting! Would have never guessed. I'll head to Radio Shack and see if I can pin down exactly which DC plug it is. metroidhunter has the right idea, that's exactly what I planned to do. The cord that came with the headphones is a little flimsy, so I figure they'll go dead within a few months anyway.

Thanks!
posted by SamuelF at 6:54 AM on December 10, 2009

I don't know what it's called, but this and this might be of interest. I do believe that all the Sleek models share the same connector, and it's also used on their wireless adapter. B&H sells a replacement cable.
posted by paulg at 7:09 AM on December 10, 2009

They're called barrel plugs & jacks. They're specified by inner and outer diameter; the one you linked to looks roughly like this one. There are usually only 1-2 possible ID options for a given OD, so if you can measure the OD (the easy one to measure) you probably have it fully specified.
posted by range at 8:56 AM on December 10, 2009