DIN or RCA phono plug--which is 'better'?

Psych -- from another thread:

The DIN either does or doesn't come with your tonearm, which is pretty much the only place you find them in audio these days (except certain specialty umbilical cords.)

So if your tonearm requires a DIN connector,it seems like it'd be hard to avoid using it. I like DIN because I believe they have better energy transfer than RCA and that becomes important where tiny phono cartridge signals are involved. The shielding is better too.

I wouldn't let it be a factor in choosing a tonearm though.

Clean the female side first by plugging/unplugging a cleaned male side with a little solution on it. Then wipe off the male side with a Q-tip before making the final connection.
.

The tonearm connector isn't a DIN, nor is it even a JIS. It is something which appears to have been designed as a tonearm-specific electrical connector. I believe that the company that designed it was called Denon Parts (no relation to the other more famous Denon).

You can find real DIN connectors and connectors used on products by Naim Audio, DNM, and probably others. If you look into these brands, you may find some reasons for why they prefer DINs over RCAs.

regards and hth, jonathan carr

One of my cable suppliers says DIN is superior to RCA in tonearm cable applications.

However, he prefers XLR to both of them.