3.5mm jack for a lavalier: sennheiser vs sony, which is “standard” 3.5mm?

[Ernest Rosado]

Hi all,

I’m trying to figure out what kind of interface I need to get for a lavalier to fit into a “standard” 3.5mm jack, like on a DSLR camera or a Rode Wireless Go II.

The two standards out there seem to be Sony and Sennheiser, the difference being that the ring and tip signals are reversed.

Does that even make a difference other than phase?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Ty Ford]

Hello Ernest and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum. The standard for a mono, balanced 3.5mm TRS is positive to tip, negative to rig and ground to sleeve. A stereo unbalanced 3.5mm connection is positive to one channel for the tip, positive to the 2nd channel for the ring and ground to sleeve. Does your camera have a mono balanced or stereo unbalanced jack?

Regards,

Ty Ford

Cow Audio Forum Leader

[Ernest Rosado]

Thanks Ty for the reply and the info.

My camera is the Canon R5 and has a stereo unbalanced 3.5mm jack. Likewise if I use the Rode Wireless Go II it also has a stereo unbalanced 3.5mm jack.

I’d like to pick up a Sanken COS-11D based on a recommendation from a friend, so I suppose I just need to know if I need to get the Sennheiser-compatible 3.5mm end or the Sony-compatible 3.5mm end.

Thanks again for the reply, appreciate all your knowledge!