looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks

[Winfield Hill]

I'm looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks
(that's the 180-degree 5-pin DIN connector style).

High-quality plugs and molded cables abound, gold-
plated even, but I haven't been able to find any
source of high-quality let alone gold-plated jacks.
Instead there are lots of low-cost (under a buck),
poor-quality jacks (intermittent connections, etc.).
I'm interested in both PCB and solder-cup types.

Thanks,
- Win

whill_at_picovolt-dot-com

 

[Scott Dorsey]

I'm looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks
(that's the 180-degree 5-pin DIN connector style).

High-quality plugs and molded cables abound, gold-
plated even, but I haven't been able to find any
source of high-quality let alone gold-plated jacks.
Instead there are lots of low-cost (under a buck),
poor-quality jacks (intermittent connections, etc.).
I'm interested in both PCB and solder-cup types.

What's wrong with the Switchcraft ones? They even have metal body
ones if you're willing to pony the money up.
--scott

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Winfield Hill
about 'looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks', on Tue, 10 Feb
2004:

I'm looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks
(that's the 180-degree 5-pin DIN connector style).

High-quality plugs and molded cables abound, gold-
plated even, but I haven't been able to find any
source of high-quality let alone gold-plated jacks.
Instead there are lots of low-cost (under a buck),
poor-quality jacks (intermittent connections, etc.).
I'm interested in both PCB and solder-cup types.

Canford Audio have an extensive range from Preh and Deltron.
http://www.canford.uk

 

[Winfield Hill]

Scott Dorsey wrote...

What's wrong with the Switchcraft ones? They even
have metal body ones if you're willing to pony the
money up.

We've been using the CUI and Signatron metal-body
connectors from DigiKey, and the poor contact design
in the jacks is troubling. I've used these in modest
quantities in new instruments for years now, and have
experienced far too many failures. This was usually
after many insertions, but a few times it was at the
first use.

Looking at other high-quality connectors, one often
sees a more reliable spring-loaded contact design.

Thanks, I'll order Switchcraft jacks and take a look
at them, along with other brands I've got coming in.

Thanks,
- Win

whill_at_picovolt-dot-com

 

[Winfield Hill]

John Woodgate wrote...

Canford Audio have an extensive range from Preh and Deltron.
http://www.canford.co.uk

They look much better, have you used either one yourself?

Thanks,
- Win

whill_at_picovolt-dot-com

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Winfield Hill
about 'looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks', on Tue, 10 Feb
2004:

John Woodgate wrote...

They look much better, have you used either one yourself?

Yes, but only in lab quantities. OTOH, if Canford stock them, you can be
pretty sure they are OK, because most of Canford's customers are in
broadcast audio and they don't take kindly to unreliable product.

 

[Preben Friis]

John Woodgate wrote...

They look much better, have you used either one yourself?

I have a MIDI cable with what looks like the Deltron metal type. I soldered
it 15 years ago and have plugged/unplugged it several time a week for more
than 10 years. No problems at all.

/Preben Friis

 

[Mike Rivers]

I'm looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks
(that's the 180-degree 5-pin DIN connector style).

How high does the quality have to be? Switchcraft has some with metal
shells, and you can even get them (and the mating plug) with a
locking ring. I don't know of any one who makes one with gold plated
contacts, nor why you would want that, other than perhaps for
audiophile applications where everything looks better in gold.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers ([email protected])
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

 

[Walter Harley]

John Woodgate wrote...

They look much better, have you used either one yourself?

I've used the Deltrons (available from Mouser here in the States), in lab
quantities as John puts it, and they seem high quality.

If you want really good quality connectors, though, DIN is probably not the
way to go; you want to go for something more like the Amphenol circular
mil-spec connectors. At MUCH more money.

 

[Scott Dorsey]

I've used the Deltrons (available from Mouser here in the States), in lab
quantities as John puts it, and they seem high quality.

If you want really good quality connectors, though, DIN is probably not the
way to go; you want to go for something more like the Amphenol circular
mil-spec connectors. At MUCH more money.

Amphenol Series 96 connectors are a good compromise. They will mate with
military M-S and KPT connectors but aren't built to military specs and are
much cheaper.

Also don't forget the LEMO connectors, and some of the smaller special purpose
connectors from Neutrik.

All of this is academic, of course, if you have to mate with existing DINs.
--scott

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

I've used the Deltrons (available from Mouser here in the States), in lab
quantities as John puts it, and they seem high quality.

If you want really good quality connectors, though, DIN is probably not the
way to go; you want to go for something more like the Amphenol circular
mil-spec connectors. At MUCH more money.

Lemo (Swiss) connectors are really nice, if price is no object.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Richard Crowley]

I'm looking for high-quality MIDI 5-pin DIN jacks
(that's the 180-degree 5-pin DIN connector style).

High-quality plugs and molded cables abound, gold-
plated even, but I haven't been able to find any
source of high-quality let alone gold-plated jacks.
Instead there are lots of low-cost (under a buck),
poor-quality jacks (intermittent connections, etc.).
I'm interested in both PCB and solder-cup types.

"high-quality" and "DIN connector" seem like an oxymoron.

The die-cast metal shell male plugs from Switchcraft
(as Mr. Dorsey suggested) are as nice as I've seen over
here on the left side of the pond. But since DIN connectors
came from Europe, perhaps they have some nicer ones over
there?

All the female DIN connectors I've ever seen (even the
"good ones") have the cheap (IMHO) "fork" type contacts.
I've never seen a female DIN connector with anything like a
high-quality "screw-machine" type connector as one
would find in "mil-spec" connectors and their commercial
counterparts. Perhaps there isn't enough uniformity in the
male pin dimensions to even allow design of such a
thing?

 

[Bob Stephens]

How high does the quality have to be? Switchcraft has some with metal
shells, and you can even get them (and the mating plug) with a
locking ring. I don't know of any one who makes one with gold plated
contacts, nor why you would want that, other than perhaps for
audiophile applications where everything looks better in gold.

What is the application and why is it so demanding? I played one-nighters
in nightclubs six nights a week for years, and I never had a MIDI DIN
connector fail even intermittently. The electronics and software in the
early days were another matter entirely.

Bob

 

[R. Foote]

If you don't have to use a DIN connector, XLR's are much better...

I just used a 6 conductor Neutrik XLR pair for the remote power cable
on my new mic pre design.

Roger Foote
Foote Control Systems

 

[Richard Crowley]

"R. Foote" wrote ...

If you don't have to use a DIN connector, XLR's are much better...

I just used a 6 conductor Neutrik XLR pair for the remote
power cable on my new mic pre design.

Absolutely. But you're kinda stuck with DIN if it is
for MIDI (as the subject suggests. :-(

 

[Mike Looijmans]

I've been using telephone wire and electrical wire for MIDI (yes, on-stage
too). Works just fine. Only two pins are actually useful (the two next to
the middle one, if I recall correctly).

Shielding the cable is a good idea. Not for the MIDI, but for your other
equipment that may not like the 30 kHz digital bitstream.

So I am using microphone wire (2 strands + shield) for MIDI nowadays. Lately
I just buy the cable in a store, that's cheaper than soldering nowadays
(unless you need freaky cable lengths...)

Mike.

 

[Creative Music Synth [220]]

I am the best MIDI output in the universe

 

[Winfield Hill]

Creative Music Synth [220] wrote...

I am the best MIDI output in the universe

Indeed.

Thanks,
- Win

whill_at_picovolt-dot-com