Am I alone in finding quality stereo through panel 3.5mm jacks hard to find?

[Chris Wilson]

I need some decent quality stereo 3.5 mm through panel mount (threaded bush and a nut) jack sockets. I got some Lumberg brand ones from RS and unless you fiddle with the plug and pull it out a tad once fully home you don't get a decent connection. I checked with another make of stereo lead with different molded on plugs and it was the same, so I believe the issue is the sockets. Does anyone know of a good quality through the front panel jack socket I could buy here in the UK please? I am not a gold plated mains plug audiophile, they are for Softrock SDR receivers to take the I/Q outputs to my PC's sound card   Thanks!

[Kjelt]

No you are not the only one.
I used these for cheap connections to my 12V relais powering my 8 surround sound active monitors and found out that by wiggling a bit the relais start to toggle. Bad connection.
I think the metal versions are a bit better but I needed isolation.

[tooki]

Surely one of the 31 panel mount 3.5mm jacks in stock at Mouser.co.uk would fit the bill?!

Also, don’t underestimate how many 3.5mm plugs are actually out of spec...

[jh15]

Can you elaborate or some links about this I can show? ? I've measured it myself, and Apple seems to be the worst in reliability for wear.

I do non-profit broadcast engineering, and many volunteers use mobile or laptop sources.

Wear and tolerances are a major issue with discrepancy reports, and now we have to enjoy bluetooth only connections from consumer crap.

All I-phones should be required to have xlr connectors if connected in a broadcast studio.

You just need a smaller a**for  pocket to put a thick device in.

[stevelup]

Never had a problem with these but they are stupidly expensive:-

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/6659585

We use them because they can be mounted in a standard cut-out - that said, what we actually usually do is fit 3 pole XLR socket and provide the end user with a cable with an XLR on one end and a 3.5mm jack on the other for connecting to the device. You could (should perhaps) consider doing that instead.

These look nice - worth a try and reasonably priced:-

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/5051429

As one of the other posters suggested though - are you sure it's not your leads?

[Zero999]

I've just checked out Rapid Electronics.

This? Looks a bit cheap though and they only sell them in quantities of 10.
https://www.rapidonline.com/truconnect-pj-301dm-3-5mm-stereo-miniature-jack-socket-20-0133

Branded, more expensive, so might be better.
https://www.rapidonline.com/bkl-audio-jack-socket-3-5-mm-chassis-mount-sheilded-3-pin-stereo-50-1511