Anybody used Nikko amps before?

Hi There,

I recently acquired a Nikko Alpha III without knowing exactly what I was getting, but I figured it was worth exploring - I guess I was right! 

Without meaning to hijack this thread, can anyone tell me, on the back are two sets of inputs, one is "Normal" and the other is "Direct."  What is the difference between these two? Are they line level vs. phono or something like that?

Thanks in advance!