5 PIN DIN 180° (DIN41524) FEMALE at the peripheral.
5 PIN DIN 180° (DIN41524) MALE at the cable.
The 5-pin 180° DIN connector, standardised under DIN 41524 and subsequently subsumed into IEC 60130-9 (4th edition, 2011), was the dominant European hi-fi audio interconnect from the early 1960s through the 1990s, used to link amplifiers, tuners, record players, and tape recorders. All DIN circular connectors share a 13.2 mm outer shell diameter with 1.45 mm pins arranged on a 7.0 mm virtual circle; the 5-pin 180° variant spaces its five pins in a semicircular arc. A defining feature of the standard is its bidirectionality: a single 5-pin cable simultaneously carries both the record feed (amplifier output to tape) and the playback feed (tape output to amplifier input), with the signal direction on pins 1, 3, 4, and 5 reversing depending on whether the device is a source or a recorder. A 3-pin DIN plug mates physically into any 5-pin 180° socket, using the three centre pins.
| Peripheral | Connected | In L | In R | Out L | Out R | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amplifier | Pickup, tuner | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Amplifier | Taperecorder | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Tuner | Amplifier | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Tuner | Taperecorder | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Recordplayer | Amplifier | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Taperecorder | Amplifier | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Taperecorder | Receiver | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Taperecorder | Microphone | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Notes
- Pin numbering on a male DIN plug (5-pin 180°), viewed from the front facing the pins with the arc upward, runs 1–4–2–5–3 from right to left. On a female socket the numbering is mirrored (left to right: 1–4–2–5–3 facing the holes).
- From the amplifier/source perspective: Pin 1 = Left Output, Pin 2 = Ground/Screen, Pin 3 = Left Input, Pin 4 = Right Output, Pin 5 = Right Input. On a tape recorder the signal directions on pins 1, 3, 4, and 5 are reversed.
- The bidirectional design means that when a tape recorder is plugged into an amplifier’s DIN socket, the recorder’s playback output arrives at the amplifier’s input and the amplifier’s output feeds the recorder’s record input — all via a single cable simultaneously.
- Rated electrical parameters per IEC 60130-9 and manufacturer data (Lumberg 0131 series): 60 Vac nominal voltage, 4 A nominal current; operating temperature −20 °C to +85 °C.
- The same 13.2 mm DIN shell is reused in 3-pin, 6-pin, 7-pin, and 8-pin variants for other applications (mono audio, stage lighting control); these are not interchangeable in function.
References
- DIN EN 60130-9:2011-12 — Connectors for frequencies below 3 MHz, Part 9: Circular connectors for radio and associated sound equipment
- IEC 60130-9:2011 — Connectors for frequencies below 3 MHz, Part 9: Circular connectors for radio and associated sound equipment (4th edition)
- DIN Circular DIN Connectors Reference — Crypto Museum
- Lumberg 0131 Series DIN Connector DIN 41524 — Rapid Electronics