The simple pressure source model of the sound radiated by a sonic jet is investigated analytically and experimentally. From the simple source model, the ratio of the frequency spectra of the radiated sound power and the jet pressure is derived for an assumed form of the jet‐pressure cross correlation. The spatial variation of the overall jet pressures, the frequency spectra of the jet pressures, the axial and radial cross correlations of the jet pressures, and the cross correlation between jet pressure and farfield sound pressure are measured for a cold jet. Some implications of the simple source model with regard to noise suppression are also discussed.