Richard Crowley wrote:

Metric vs. English? we've had discussions before about
whether 3.5mm and 1/8inch are really interchangable.
Same with 1/4inch variety?

We used to think that when Radio Shack was about the only common source
for non-Switchcraft jacks, figuring they were some metric equivalent of
1/4." Seems like the industry would have figured out that this is
something that they have to standardize on.

I think the problem is that there isn't enough springiness in the tip
and ring contacts and they just don't put enough pressure on the plug
to make good contact and keep it pressed against the ring firmly. Most
of the problem ones are the enclosed jacks that mount directly to a
circuit board or have a plastic bushing that mounts through a hole in
the chassis. I don't know what's with the Onyx - the jacks look better
than they work. The insert jacks work OK with a TRS plug all the way in
like they're supposed to be used, but try to plug a TS plug halfway in
to use it as a direct output and it wobbles around. The ring contact of
the jack (which contacts the tip in this kludge) just doesn't come in
far enough to be secure in the notch of the tip of the plug. The
headphone jack is just a little sloppy.