5 pin 180° DIN connector

Speaker DIN line socket (left) and plug

DIN connectors are multi-pin electrical connectors based on a DIN standard.

DIN connectors

Full-sized DIN connectors are 13.2mm in diameter, and are available in patterns with three to fourteen pins. All patterns are commonly available as line versions in male (plug) and female (socket), and as panel-mounting female sockets.

The DIN connector consists of a shielding metal skirt protecting a number of straight circular pins. The skirt is keyed to ensure that the plug is inserted with the correct orientation and to prevent damage to the pins.

There are seven common patterns, with any number of pins from three to eight. Two different five-pin connectors exist, known as 180° and 240° (sometimes called 270°) after the pin arrangement. There is some limited compatibility, for example a three-pin connector will fit any 180° five-pin socket, engaging three of the pins and leaving the other two unconnected, but a five-pin connector will fit some but not all three-pin sockets.

There is a nearly obsolete convention for using the 180° five pin connector for connecting a stereo tape recorder to a stereo amplifier or preamplifier, using the five pins for the four signal connections plus ground. The cord used for this has a connector on each end, and the pins are connected pin for pin, i.e. pin 1 to pin 1, 2 to 2, etc. A four-channel cord wired in this way is sometimes simply called a DIN cord.

Mini DIN connectors

"Mini DIN" connectors are 9.5mm in diameter, and are commonly available in seven patterns with any number of pins from three to nine. Their construction is similar to the older, larger DIN connector, but they may also have a rectangular plastic pin whose purpose is to prevent otherwise similar connectors (such as S-Video and PS/2 connectors) being confused. They are used commonly in modern computing and video applications.

Speaker DIN connectors

A polarised two-pin unshielded connector, designed for connecting a loudspeaker to a power amplifier, is known as a speaker DIN connector. It exists as a panel-mounting female version, and line-mounted male and female versions. The male version has a central flat pin, and circular pin mounted off-centre. It is now mainly found on older equipment, such as 16mm movie projectors.