RCA connection issues
Suppose, for example, you want to connect a CD player to an old Braun system with DIN connectors: For this you need a cable that has a 5-pin diode (DIN) plug on one side and 2 RCA plugs on the other. Make sure that the DIN plug is wired for playback. The cables must be connected to contacts 3 and 5 of the DIN plug.
This connection usually works completely without problems, also in the opposite direction, i.e. when it comes to operating a DIN device on an amplifier with RCA connections.
Things look different when it is not only about playback but also about recording. DIN and RCA are electrically incompatible here.
First you need a 4-pin adapter cable
The following problems occur:
1) DIN on the recording device (tape deck) and RCA on the amplifier:
The recording is overdriven, even with the record level control turned almost all the way down.
2) RCA on the recording device and DIN on the amplifier:
Here it is exactly the other way around. Even with the record level control turned all the way up, the recording is much too quiet and almost disappears in the noise. In the first case the solution is very simple: there is a special cable with voltage dividers that reduces the high output voltage of the RCA output to the correct level for the DIN device. In the second case the problem is not quite so easy to solve:
With a small amplifier, the missing output voltage can be increased to the point where it is sufficient to drive the recording device at an optimal level. Such amplifiers are rare; accessory retailers offer them as booster or line amplifiers. Preamplifiers for turntables are available at zalias:
The second solution is to bridge 2 resistors in the DIN device. These resistors usually sit directly at the DIN socket and are connected to contacts 1+4. If you bridge these resistors, the problem is usually solved.
