what is aux in audio systems?

The term aux is commonly tossed around when discussing audio systems. It is an abbreviation for "auxiliary," which essentially allows you to connect other devices to your audio system in order to expand its capabilities. From inputting sounds to sending sound files through, aux connection allows users more flexibility with their audio set up.

An aux cord is a cable with a male foot on either end. One end is plugged into the headphone jack located on the connected device and the other end plugs into an available port usually found by your stereo receiver. Keeping the cord firmly attached, users can now pipe in any sort of audio file or microphone input into their system so they can hear it through their speakers. For example, you might want to plug in your smartphone and play some music on your home stereo's speakers, or plug in a microphone to give a speech at a party. The possibilities are seemingly endless with aux cords equipped!

Aux connections can also serve as output options from your speaker system, allowing you to record whatever is playing through them onto another device like a computer or portable recorder, or even an old-fashioned cassette recorder for those looking for a retro touch. Not only that but if you own one of the new multi-room speaker systems from companies like Sonos, then you can make use of an aux connection as well. This allows you to sync multiple speaker systems together and play music directly from one source throughout several rooms in your house at once for that cinematic sound experience.