Editing DIN connector (section)

=== Analog audio ===
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}
{| class=wikitable align=right style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=2 rowspan=2| Application
! rowspan=2 | Connector
! colspan=5 | Pin function
|-
! 1 !! 4 !! 2 !! 5 !! 3
|-
| rowspan=2 | Amplifier
| Monophonic
| rowspan=4 | [[Image:DIN-5 Diagram.svg|60px]] 5/180°
| colspan=2 | Audio out
| rowspan=6 | Screen/return
| colspan=2 | Audio in
|-
| Stereophonic
| Left out
| Right out
| Right in
| Left in
|-
| rowspan=2 | Tape recorder
| Monophonic
| colspan=2 | Audio in
| colspan=2 | Audio out
|-
| Stereophonic
| Left in
| Right in
| Right out
| Left out
|-
| colspan=3 | Common colors on DIN-4*RCA adapters
| white
| red
| yellow 
| black
|-
| colspan=3 | Common colors on DIN-2*RCA adapters
| (sometimes joined with pin 5)
| 
| red 
| white
|}

The 3/180° and 5/180° connectors were originally standardized and widely used in European countries for interconnecting analog audio equipment. For example, a [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]] tape recorder could connect to a stereo amplifier using the five pins for the four signal connections plus ground. The connectors on the cord are connected pin for pin, (pin 1 to pin 1, etc.). Pins on male connectors are numbered (from right to left, viewed from outside of the connector, with the five pins upwards, and facing them): 1–4–2–5–3.  Holes on female connectors are also numbered 1-4-2-5-3, but from left to right (facing the holes). The three pins that make contact with a three-pin DIN connector will have the same pin numbering both in the three-pin and the five-pin connector. A four-conductor cord wired in this way is sometimes called a ''DIN cord'', a ''DIN lead'' or a ''DIN cable''. For [[Monaural|mono]] interconnections, the 3/180° plugs are sufficient. When a mono plug is inserted into a stereo socket, it mates with the left channel. For playback-only interconnections, the 3/180° plugs are sufficient, with pin 1 and 3 used for the stereo channels and pin 2 as signal ground. Five-pin DIN inputs for record players and auxiliary signal sources commonly join pin 1 and 5 in order to be compatible both with the 3/180° and 5/180° pinouts. This generally works, but the join of pin 1 and 5 on adapters between DIN and RCA connectors can cause problems if used with a five-pin DIN connector tape connector on an amplifier or receiver, as it will join the left record with the right playback signal. The other way around is usually not a problem, as sending the right playback out of a tape recorder back in to the left record input usually causes no trouble in playback mode.

The signal levels are generally in the low range of [[Line level|line levels]] for playback/reproduction signals. The levels for recording can be considerably lower, more like microphone levels in some cases.

Some manufacturers – Philips, Uher and others – used the connector slightly differently for tape recorders. Pin 2 (signal ground) was the same as others, and in playback mode pin 3 and 5 were used for left and right line level output, again as others. However, in record mode all pins were active inputs, with pins 1 and 4 for low-level signals while pins 3 and 5 were used for line-level signals. On these recorders, the output signals were only active in play mode, not in stop, record, rewind, fast forward or any other mode. The main benefit of this usage is that tape copying can be done with the regular pin-to-pin connected cables commonly used to connect tape recorders to amplifiers/receivers. An additional benefit is that several tape recorders can be connected in parallel, and can also be connected to an amplifier/receiver. Copying is done simply by pressing 'play' on the playback recorder, 'record' on any recorders used for recording, and the amplifier/receiver is either switched off or set to the tape position. Recording of radio broadcasts or records is equally simple: just press record on any recorder and do not set any other recorder to playback mode. This eliminates the need for the switch boxes otherwise commonly used to connect more than one tape recorder to a single tape recorder connector on an amplifier/receiver. The drawbacks were that connecting any mono recorder with pin 1 joined to 4 and pin 5 joined to 3 (a common practice to make mono recorders record both channels in parallel and reproduce in both channels) would make all tape sounds mono. Also any tape recorder with three heads, used for monitoring while recording, needs an extra lead between the recorder and the amplifier to be able to monitor the recording through the amplifier and speakers. On Philips amplifiers/receivers and three-head recorders that extra socket is labeled Monitor while the regular socket is labeled Tape. Another drawback is the possible confusion when interconnecting with other equipment, where a person sometimes would use a straight pin-to-pin cable and sometimes use a special "copying" cable with pin 1 swapped with pin 3 and pin 4 swapped with pin 5. Sometimes a person would also need to lower the signal to make a line output fit a microphone level input. 

In other cases, the connector additionally sends power to a device.  For example in tuners, only pins 1, 4 and 2 are required for the audio signal, and pins 3 and 5 could supply power to the tuner, which usually had low power requirements.  This is compatible with other standard input connectors, but misusing pins 3 and 5 may cause damage.  Other manufacturers used more than five pins, for example cassette decks with two other pins for power supply.  Usually these were proprietary connections, making them compatible only with decks of the same manufacturer. Some manufacturers used more than five-pin connections (seven or even nine pins) for devices with remote control; besides the audio signals there was also a remote control link (usually the main unit with remote receiver being the amplifier/receiver).  Also, some amplifiers and receivers with ceramic phono input used pins 1,4,2 for conventional line audio signal input and pins 3 and 5 for powering an optional external magnetic phono preamplifier.  In this case, these manufacturers were also supplying the preamplifier.  The input without preamplifier can be used as normal on pins 1, 2 and 4, but care should be taken to avoid shorting pins 3 and 5, which in this case are power supply, which may cause damage to equipment.  In other cases, pins 1, 2 and 4 are used for a magnetic cartridge, and pins 3, 5 (with ground on pin 2 ) for ceramic.  This depends on manufacturer.  Other combinations for cassette decks were: input and output, power supply, remote control and record sync.  This will usually work only with decks of the same manufacturer.  Usually it will be compatible with conventional decks, but care must be taken not to short the other pins.

This interface was rare outside products for the European market, and from the 1980s progressively disappeared on new equipment, both in Europe and worldwide, in favour of [[RCA connectors]]. Non-European products intended for the European market commonly combined both DIN and RCA connectors, with cassette decks having both types and amplifiers/receivers commonly having RCA connectors for everything and an additional 5-pin DIN connector for at least one tape machine, usually in parallel with a set of RCA connectors for the same input/output.