DIN to RCA adapter

Finding the correct size DIN for tonearm is not easy. Many at Radio Shack look like the right size but don't fit.

If you're not using the tonearm I would cut one end off a super cheap RCA / RCA, maybe one of those that came with a Direct TV box or VCR and solder alligators on one end.

Clip the alligators on the cartridge connectors of your tonearm (without the cartridge !!), plug the remaining RCA end into a CD or DVD player and terminate the tonearm plus new phono cable into a high level input of your preamp and play music.

You can actually listen this way to confirm signal is working on both channels. I did this for my new tonearm + tone arm cable and saved many hours of LP playing to achieve break in. CD is faster and better than a cartridge too, about 1 volt where moving coil cartridge could be .2

I was waiting for service on my turntable so I burned about 900 hours on mine. You would probably get most of what it's going to do in much less time.

To answer your question:

So, I would need an inexpensive cable that terminates at one end in a pair of male RCAs. I can cut-off the other end (whatever it is) and solder on a male 5 pin DIN.

Does it matter which of the 5 pins on the DIN are soldered to which wire coming from the RCAs? Most "zip cord" has just two wires, so I would be soldering at two of the five pins.

Yes it matters which you use, the four pins on DIN are plus and minus left and right channel plus ground. I can measure the custom one I have to give you pin out but the alligator clip is better as it does the tonearm at the same time.

Thanks, Albert. So in essence what you are suggesting is running the CDp signal through the tone arm via CDp out and this home grown "IC". The signal will then pass through the DIN to RCA phono cable and finally into the preamp via a high-level input. Ingenious!

I have Graham arm with four colored leads, so I would need to remove the four wire leads from the Graham arm to my cartridge (the cartridge can remain attached to the head shell, no?) and connect the alligator clips to the leads. I should try to use all four wire leads - two per alligator clip, no? The Graham manual should have specifics re: the wire leads.

Thanks for your response.

Brent

Cardas makes male DIN plug that will mate back-to-back with the female DIN in your tonearm cable.

Albert, great idea. I bet the wire inside my Tri Planar arm isn't broken in yet either. I'll give this a spin this week end.

Thanks

Burn in your entire phono cable signal path - including the tonearm wire. Here's a post on my forum showing the approach: http://www.galibierdesign.com//phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=80.

For wiring to your home brew RCA assembly:

red = right (+), or male RCA pin
green = right (-) or inverted (RCA ground)

white = left (+) or male RCA pin
blue = left (-) inverted (RCA ground)

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Brent The color code Thom supplied is all you need, the instructions I gave will do the job and you can walk away and let your CD or DVD do the work.

Cartridge can stay in the head shell, but use common sense and patience when you hook up, CD signal should not go into your cartridge.

Using this method, you break in cartridge clips, headshell leads, tonearm wire, DIN and tonearm cable all in one move.

Thanks for all the very helpful advice. Since I don't have the connectors Thom used, two additional questions re: the alligator clips:

1. My home grown IC will have two alligator clips at one end and two male RCAs at the other. Do I combine the two right leads (red and green), clipping them together using the right alligator clip and then do the same for the two left leads (blue and white)?

2. When I connect the alligator clips, I don't want to crush the tone arm wire terminations - any thoughts here?

Thanks.

Brent

Dear Brent: I don't know which tonearm cable you own and what cartridge. Trying several and differents tonearm cables ones of them were RCA to RCA where is very easy to make what you want and I did with out almost no advantage against a non-burn cable after 40-50 hours of use maybe a little more.

If I was you I will run that tonearm cable in normal use and don't take all those effort that you need to burm-in to obtain almost nothing because the cable after those normal play hours will be on target.

Anyway your call.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul,

Thanks for the post. The tone arm is a Graham 1.5TC, the cartridge is a Clearaudio Stradivari and the phono cable is Silver Audio's Silver Breeze DIN to RCA.

Brent

Brent, These pins will mate directly to the cartridge clips. In DIY I use high-quality gold-over-copper male/female Bulgin pins in various sizes for intrachassis connections.

http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?SKU=565-0058&MPN=SA3350/1

Brent,

Two connections for alligator or Dgarretson's pins is not correct.

When you cut one RCA off of the cheap pair the cable will likely be a coax design. The center conductor is positive the shield is negative. Solder to all four and you have plus and minus left channel and plus and minus right channel.

If you use my alligator clip idea, connect to the four headshell lead following colors red, green, white and blue (as outlined by Thom @ Galibier).

Same thing with Dgarretson's idea, but you use the tidy pins he linked to so you don't have alligators. Either way the signal passes through all wire at once and as Thom says, even the wire in the tonearm benefits from run in.