Rode SC8 6m/20′ dual-male TRS cable

Rode TRS cable description :

The SC8 is a premium shielded extension cable for use with the VideoMicro and VideoMic GO microphones. Measuring 6m/20′, the SC8 features gold plated contacts for superior audio reproduction.

The jack plug at the top is a TS jack. The pointed metal bit at the end, is logically enough, the tip, and the long metal shaft is the sleeve. The black band between them is an insulator preventing the two parts of the jack from shorting together. Notice we said ‘band’ and not ‘ring’. It’s easy to look at a TS jack and assume the black insulation ring is the ‘R’ in TRS but it’s not. The TRS jack is at the bottom. It has a metal ring in the middle which is the third conductor. The three conductors are separated by two black insulation bands.

There are other types, most commonly a TRRS which has two rings, and four conductors in total. TRRS jacks are often used for stereo headsets with microphones where four conductors are needed for ground, left channel, right channel, and mic.

Rode TRS cable is fine for carrying a mono instrument signal such as from a guitar pickup to amp. The tip carries the signal and the sleeve is the return path and also usually the ground. Sometimes an additional conductor is needed such as for carrying a stereo signal, a balanced signal, or when connecting a voltage divider such as in an expression pedal. When a device requires a TRS cable, it’s because the application needs a third wire, and it will normally not work correctly if you try to use a TS cable in it’s place.

When we refer to a TRS cable, it normally means that there is a TRS jack at both ends. However, there is also another variant often called a TRS Insert cable or TRS Y cable.