DIN Phono Cable

Easiest thing to do is to get a 5-pin din phono cable.  They are all the same except for quality and price :). you can get a straight pin or a right angle pin depending on how much room you have between TT and the platform.   I have a VPI HW-19 mkiv and i needed a right angle connection so the cable wouldn’t be too crimped.

+1, @grinnell 

I’ve used Audio Envy Phono Deluxe - 5 pin angled DIN connector with SME V tonearm. Great value for the money! 
https://audioenvy.com/product/home-car-pro-interconnects/phono-deluxe-matched-pair/

@grinnell @lalitk 

Thanks! I have a Project Xtension 10 and the DIN end looks to go straight up into the tonearm bottom, no angles. 
What I’ve seen is a DIN A or B (I think) and it looks to be about where a small pin hole is, maybe a click lock. 
Also for example AQ cables calls it JIS??

Zavfino makes several grades of phono cables with straight or 90deg din connectors.  Very well made and good sounding as well.  I use a 90deg on a Mjestic cable from my Origin Live Onyx and couldn't be happier (without spending too much money)

@josepad 

The angled DIN or JIS connector allows tonearm cable to flow without any strain when there is not enough clearance underneath the TT base. If you have any enough clearance then a straight DIN or JIS connector would suffice.  

IMO, Cardas make the nicest DIN connectors. Used on the better cables.

the majority of DIN connectors are like this, they get wider after a short narrower length

the width increases for easier connection within the fitting.

My Mission and Jelco Tonearms require a longer length of the smaller diameter barrel because the connector is recessed further within the tonearm post

I had Pine Tree Cables make me a phono cable with a long neck connector.

this Project Right Angle Din Cable appears to be a longer than typical connector

https://www.audioadvice.com/products/pro-ject-connect-it-e-phono-cable-din-to-rca?variant=41288597667924&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADRzHk8Kbs_ekf6kAzbkcAxeikIgG&gclid=CjwKCAjwn6LABhBSEiwAsNJrjnba8kFltHj9lNEL-HMDHkochAvHi42ttvYP5uhqKPWmHTPqP5IXKhoC0WYQAvD_BwE

Elliot, I don't know what brand it is but the black phono IC in one of your photos bears a male DIN connector, rather than the more typical female version.  Female is more typical because nearly all tonearms that accept DIN provide a male receptacle up inside the vertical shaft of the tonearm. So that particular cable would be usable only in the special case where the tonearm presents a female connector, and I have never seen that but my experience is limited to about a dozen tonearms. I don't know why that is a convention, but my guess is you don't want the relatively vulnerable pins of a male connector to be subject to damage when the IC is not in use or is being installed.

Also, the increase in girth about an inch back from the business end may or may not be a good thing. It's a convenience, if the DIN receptacle in the tonearm is reachable within the length of the narrow collar on the IC, but if the DIN receptacle is farther up in the arm shaft than the collar permits (because of the widening), you won't get a max connection.

I am a big proponent of direct connection between cartridge and phono stage when practical, but if I do need a DIN connection, I prefer and recommend Cardas. Of course, if you are buying a prefabricated phono cable with a DIN plug on one end, you take what you get.

I'm shopping around for a DIN-XLR phono cable. I got a fully balanced phono-stage earlier this year, so I now have my two tonearms out for a rewire with silver litz cables and DIN termination. Right now I have a Cardas (aka Musical Surroundings Reference) cable on loan, but am thinking about getting Siltech Classic Legend 380i but they are quite pricey.

All great info people!! I know that I do not need an angle DIN connector, as the tonearm sits in a arm hole on the plinth that has no angle path. The DIN on the arm (image below) is pointing straight down and the shaft under the table is a straight shaft. The plinth on the Xtension 10 is about 2" thick and it looks to have good clearance around the hole.

Now its just a matter of what brand I buy.....But the key for me and my Lyra Kleos is must be very low cap cable, less than 100pF for sure in a meter cable.

Recommend you make sure what sort of 5-pin alignment method is used for the Project arm.

I believe most 5-pin DINs have an alignment pin to facilitate mating orientation.  (My Moerch arm on one table does...).  However, my Origin Live Enterprise MK5 arm uses a larger recess for alignment (not a pin groove) and the Origin Live Silver Hybrid 2 DIN-RCA cable that was included has the mating extrusion ("bumpout").  When I replaced the OL cable with my Luminous Audio Technology Silver Reference, I went ahead and filed down its mating pin to allow insertion, as the Origin Live connection has no pin groove.  May just be an OL thing...

@vinylcat 

That is my main issue, trying to make sure that small pin is the right one (orientation). I have a msg into ProJect asking......Their website nor product page mentions anything about it.

Thanks!

@josepad 

The angle on the DIN cable doesn't have to do with the configuration of the tonearm base. Instead the issue is whether there's enough clearance between the.bottom of he tonearm base and the shelf that the turntable rests on. The DIN connector may be only an inch or two long, but you want to have enough clearance that the cable coming out of the connector doesn't crimp against the shelf as it extends from the tonearm base.

@maxson 

Thanks……I think I know what you mean. The cable will come straight down from the tonearm connection. I don’t see any crimping possibility. 

"The cable will come straight down from the tonearm connection."  But where does the cable have to go next?  Presumably the TT sits on a shelf, so the cable will have to bend at a 90 degree angle in order not to foul the surface of the shelf on its way to the phono inputs.  That is what Maxson is trying to explain, I think. Sometimes a right-angled DIN plug is needed to make that 90 degree turn. 

@lewm 

There are plenty of turntables where that right-angle DIN really isn't a concern. I will have my cables built with straight-on DIN connectors.

Yes, of course, I was merely trying to explain to Jose what Maxson was getting at.  Of course there may be no need for a right angle DIN with Jose's TT, just as it isn't with yours. The point was that Jose' did not get the point.

@lewm 

Thanks….I understand. I mentioned earlier in thread I did not think I needed a 90 degree DIN. Since the connection points straight down and the plinth is like 2” thick. 
TT does sit on a platform so as it comes out yes it will need to bend but nothing extreme. Looks like most DIN have 2-3” of flexible section before it gets thicker. 
Should be all good…..So yea just have to pick one now. Tonearm takes 2 months to ship from Project, none in ‘Merica. 
I have some time

Cheers

I just purchased at TA with 5 pin DIN. The standard appears to be 5 pin Male at the TA, but you should ask just to be sure. The cables I looked at were all 5 pin females at the TA to RCA, so it worked fine. Much easier and direct than the connector that VPI uses on their Prime with some weird connector to a box to RCA. It works fine, just kinda weird IMHO. 

lewm

thanks for catching me showing the wrong connector, I was just paying attention to the length of the narrow diameter portion. All my ’din’ connector arms are 5 male pins in the tonearm post, female 5 pin din in the cable (ground and rca l & r other end).

sadly, the used Jelco SA-250 arm I bought from Germany has left channel, no right channel, no hum. I ordered a new multi-meter tester to check the continuity, it arrives tomorrow. Seller insists it was checked/ok when sold. It was nicely protected, if seller is truthful, it could have had a hard fall during transport. 

multi-meter / battery tester has buzzer to indicate continuity 

My repaired UA-7082, and Jelco SA-250 gives me 3 removable headshells instead of former 1 only

prior, Mission 774 LC was made by Jelco, same compact heavy Titanium Weight. I had to ease the post hole bigger, Mission is s/p 210mm; SA-250 s/p is 214mm

OP

Pay attention to the separate ground wire at the other end of any phono cable, some are short, flimsy small diameter, small spade, some have only a short length ’loose’ from the molded together l.r I had to extend the length of the ground wire of my SUT’s output cable, because your and my mx110z ground terminal is far away from the phono input jacks. And, I had to change the size of the spade on the ground wire of one of my 3 phono cables, so it would fit the ground post on my Fidelity Research FRT-4 SUT.

Of course any separate wire can be used for any ground if/when needed, simple common wire, green preferred by me.