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I'm looking for a headphone with a 6mm adapter. I have a lenovo thinkpad and it doesn't recognize regular headphones with 3.5mm adapters. I've called the tech support and they told me to get a 6mm one. They said Apple and Sony make such headphones. But couldn't give me exactly one name. So I want to buy one, but don't know it's name (they don't know too). Anybody knows?

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I'd check that the Tech guy was correct here. I can't remember ever seeing a laptop with a 6mm jack. No Thinkpad I've seen has one. If you have the model type we can check. – Joe Taylor Jun 30 '11 at 15:38
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yes, it was not very smart to take the tech guy's words for it. The user guide says: "Your computer has a combo audio jack. To listen to the sound from your computer, connect a headphone or a headset, that has a 3.5 mm 4-pole plug, to the combo audio jack." – Baha Jul 1 '11 at 0:04
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3 Answers

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i can't think of any computer that would use a 1/4 inch TRS plug - certainly not thinkpads. You can get an adaptor at almost any electronics part store. Quite a few medium-high end headphones come with them as well.

I do believe the newer thinkpads support a 3.5 mm TRRS plug for headphone and mic however.

EDIT: and.. while its not exactly the answer - apparently on windows 7 thinkpads with the combo trrs jacks, you can use a normal headphone by setting your headphones as the default device - plug in your headphones rightclick on the mixer icon, select playback devices, and set your headphones as the default device. It will switch back to the speakers as default when you unplug. HOWEVER, if you want to deactivate the headset again, you have to do it with headphones plugged in.

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exactly, my laptop (thinkpad x1) has one hole that supports both the headphone and mic – Baha Jun 30 '11 at 15:29
so I don't have to buy a 6mm TRRS, but a 3.5mm one right? – Baha Jun 30 '11 at 15:32
yes, i believe so. There's pretty much NO consumer laptop with a 1/4 inch jack - i use it with an external sound card. apparently you might be able to use an apple headset with it, so anything ipod/iphone compatable should work – Journeyman Geek Jun 30 '11 at 15:36
There's no such thing as an "iphone headphone". There are combination headphone/microphone TRS connectors in 1/4" and 3.5mm. The combination headphone/microphone jack is always autosensing and when a normal 3.5mm headphone is plugged in, it will recognize it as such and compensate, the same way stereo and mono versions of the audio jacks compensate automatically. New connectors can sometimes just be stiff, as there is a small piece of metal that clips the connector in. Try pushing a little harder on your connector and see if it will go in. Otherwise it may have been damaged and need replacing. – music2myear Jun 30 '11 at 19:08
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They're called headphones. :)

You're specifically refering to the larger audio connector that used to be common and now is generally only found on pro-audio systems such as sound boards and the like.

Go to Walmart and get an adapter. It just looks like a larger audio connector with a smaller hole in the back. This will allow you to use your own current headphones with their 3.5mm connector in the 6mm hole.

UPDATE: They are specifically called 6mm Audio Connectors ("Connectors" can also be replaced with "Jacks", though some would argue the Jack is what the Connector plugs in to). As opposed to what you currently have, which is a 3.5mm Audio Connector. It's pretty much the same thing as a USB, mini USB, and micro USB. It's the same connector just in a different size.

6MM isn't very common, and I'm kinda wondering what sort of laptop design you have that incorporates a 6mm jack. Once Walkmen and portable CD players came into common usage, the 3.5mm Audio Connector fits much more easily in the smaller designs.

UPDATE: Wikipedia calls them TRS connectors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS_connector and now I know why I didn't recognize "6mm" right off the bat. I'm used to calling them "quarter inch audio connectors" because they're technically 6.38mm, or 1/4in, in diameter.

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thanks for your answer, my laptop is pretty new though. it's called thinkpad x1. maybe the tech support person gave me a wrong information. – Baha Jun 30 '11 at 15:28
An x1 is an ultraportable laptop, which makes it even more odd that they put a 6mm(1/4in) audio connector in it. Is the plug on your headphones too small or too large for the hole in the laptop? And, forgive me for asking, have you verified you're trying to connect it to the correct hole? – music2myear Jun 30 '11 at 15:38
yes, i think so. the hole is next to the usb port on the left and both ports are covered with a rubber cover. on that cover there is a headphone and usb icons/logos. so I think the hole is the right one, but as journeyman geek suggested, because it's a dual audio/mic jack, I need an iphone headphone (which is 3.5mm, not 6mm as the tech support guy suggested). – Baha Jun 30 '11 at 16:06
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There's no such thing as an "iphone headphone". There are combination headphone/microphone TRS connectors in 1/4" and 3.5mm. The combination headphone/microphone jack is always autosensing and when a normal 3.5mm headphone is plugged in, it will recognize it as such and compensate, the same way stereo and mono versions of the audio jacks compensate automatically. New connectors can sometimes just be stiff, as there is a small piece of metal that clips the connector in. Try pushing a little harder on your connector and see if it will go in. Otherwise it may have been damaged and need replacing. – music2myear Jun 30 '11 at 19:07
You seem to be correct. Here is what the user guide has to say: "The combo audio jack does not support a conventional microphone. If a conventional headphone is attached to it, the headphone function is supported. If a headset with a 3.5 mm 4-pole plug is attached to it, both headphone and microphone functions are supported." – Baha Jul 1 '11 at 0:06
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up vote 1 down vote

Those would be headphones with a "1/4 inch" plug -- the same plug that plugs into your electric guitar or the headphone jack on your dad's old stereo set. Converters between the 3.5mm and this size are readily available at a Radio Shack, et al, though they would likely be called "1/8 inch to 1/4 inch" converters.

Keep in mind that "3.5mm" used to be 1/8 inch -- both 3.5mm and 6mm are approximations to the real "nominal" sizes. (6.5mm would be a closer approximation to 1/4 inch, but it matters not given that there must be some "slop" in the measurement anyway to allow for ease of insertion/removal, and there are no other standard sizes in the same range that might create confusion.)

There is also a (relatively rare) 3/16 inch standard that would amount to about 5mm, and a 3/32 inch standard which is the same as the 2.5mm connector used on some phones.

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(There also used to exist "shorty" 1/4" and 1/8" plugs -- the same diameter as the regular ones, only about 1/3 shorter. Fairly rare, though.) – DanH Jul 5 '11 at 19:45
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