Turntable Tonearm Cable with DIN and Dual RCA Options

The cable between a cartridge and a phono stage carries the smallest signal in an audio system, which makes it the most sensitive link in the chain. Hiss, hum and a skewed frequency response are all traceable to this run, and a poor assembly will undo the work done by a good cartridge. This turntable tonearm cable is built for that link: low capacitance conductors, two layers of shielding, and a separate ground path so the arm and the chassis can be bonded properly.

DIN or RCA at the arm end

Two wiring conventions exist. Some decks terminate the arm internally and present a DIN socket on the chassis, so a single five pin plug carries both channels and the ground. Others leave flying RCA leads at the arm base, or take an external cable straight to RCA plugs. We build both, with straight or angled DIN housings for decks where the rear panel sits close to a wall or a shelf. Check what your deck presents before ordering, because the two are not interchangeable without an adapter.

Capacitance and cartridge loading

A moving magnet cartridge is sensitive to the total capacitance it sees, which is the sum of the tonearm wiring, the cable and the input stage of the phono preamplifier. Too much capacitance moves the response peak and can make a cartridge sound bright or hard. This is the reason to prefer a short, low capacitance lead over a long one, and to ask for the figure rather than assuming. The capacitance values published for comparable cables are competitor data; we will supply our measured value once the stock has been tested.

Grounding

• Separate ground lead with a spade terminal, so the deck chassis bonds to the preamplifier ground post
• Ground carried on the DIN shell where the deck wiring supports it
• If you hear hum that changes when you touch the arm, the ground path is the first thing to check

Build and lengths

Conductors are oxygen free copper with gold plated RCA plugs to keep contact resistance stable over years of sitting in one place, since these leads are connected once and then left alone. Two shielding layers are used, a foil layer for coverage and a braid over it for mechanical protection and a low resistance return. Stock lengths cover the distances that come up in practice, and longer runs are worth avoiding wherever the equipment can be moved closer.

What needs confirming

Copper grade, capacitance per metre, shielding coverage and plating thickness are taken from competitor listings. Each needs a supplier datasheet or a bench measurement before it is quoted as our specification.

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