I have a small metal outdoor speaker that used to be used for paging and general voice purposes. I was wondering if I plugged it into an EARPHONE jack of a radio, tape player etc... as long as the jack sizes were in sync if the speaker would work.
In other words, is an EARPHONE jack basically the same thing as an EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack?
Thanks in advance
LEESA (I)
Usually (but not always) an "earphone" jack *IS* an "external speaker" jack with a level-limiting resistor attached to it, while a true "external speaker" jack is a straight shot from the final stage of the amplifier. Which means that if you've got the level-limited type of earphone jack *AND* an external speaker jack, the "speaker" one is going to give you a louder output than the earphone jack at the same volume setting on the knob.
Don't confuse either of them with a "line out" jack. A line out won't drive a speaker (of any size) worth anything, since it's a fixed (and very low) level output intended to be piped to at least one more amplifier stage before hitting a speaker.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required