NAC62 Tape output to headphone amp

First of all my apologies to Chris Shorter (Chrome Bumper thread) if he reads this but I want a second opinion on my quandry. I’m running a ND5XS2 through a Chord DAC into the AUX input of my NAC62. If I connect the TAPE input/output socket on the 62 to the headphone amp with 5 pin DIN to RCA and switch the 62 to Mute will it feed the headphone amp ? And by switching back to Normal and turning off the headphone amp allow me to play through my NAP90 ? Any opinions will be much appreciated. Thank you

Yes. The mute setting only mutes the preamp output. The tape out is unaffected. Just make sure you have the DIN5 end of the DIN to RCA cable wired correctly to use the output pins on the Tape socket.

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Not getting this right has caused many Forum posts… :astonished:

The wiring details are on the back of your 62 - or any NAC.

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Unless you’re making your own lead, you shouldn’t need to check the output pins.

If buying a lead, it is important to buy a 5pin din to RCA, as opposed to an RCA to 5pin din.

In which case, people would not buy the wrong leads.
But they do… According to many posts on here… :thinking:

That won’t make the difference as a DIN5 - 2 x RCA or 2 xRCA - DIN5 source lead will have the DIN wired the same (Play pins). What’s needed is a DIN where the Record pins are connected instead, or just use a tape patch interconnect connecting only one of the sets of two RCA phonos if need be.

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Yup. Thats it… :slightly_smiling_face:

I’m confused, and surely Fatcat is correct? A Din TO RCA must have the Din output pins connected, or it wouldn’t work.

On the DIN5 you have ‘Play’ pins which are used for source output (on the source) and source input (on the pre-amp). You also have ‘Record’ pins which are used for record input on a recorder and record output on a pre-amp tape output.

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Wiring details (of the Tape Input/Output socket) are also on the back panel of most NAC’s… :hushed:

And crucially the Play pins are affected by the Mute setting, while the Record pins are not…

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That’s not what I’ve found.

5 pin din to RCA means the signal goes from din to RCA.

But it is worth checking with the seller if this is the case.

Correct.

Yes, of course it does. But you’ll also find that you can use it backwards too - i.e. from RCA Phono to DIN. Any directionality is usually down to sound considerations and the cable used.

However, if it’s a source interconnect with the ‘Play’ pins connected then it won’t work connecting a headphone amp to the Tape in/out DIN on a Naim pre-amp.

Richard, please correct me if I’m wrong. From what you are saying, the two input pins on a Din 5 can also output. Obviously the record pins provide an output, so this means that four pins can actually provide outputs. In nearly 40 years of Naim ownership I never new that. Every day is, truly, a school day. Or maybe I’m just not understanding what you are saying.

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The same pins on the DIN are used for connecting to the output at source as well as the input at pre-amp end. Likewise the other pins on the DIN are used for connecting the REC OUT at the pre-amp end and the REC IN of a recorder.

This is why if you take a source DIN that has a directional marker, you can accidentally connect it backwards and it still works. If you look at the two pictures below that show the Pin orientation on the sockets of a pre-amp input (first pic) and a source output (second pic), you’ll see they’re same.

Din to RCA aren’t the same as RCA to din.

See chord list of cables below.

All the OP has to do is purchase a Din to RCA cable. That will have the din output pins connected. But worth checking with the sell, if this is case.

I’ve just hooked up my Roland recorder to the tape output of one of my 62s. The cable is a Din to mini jack. It only has 3 pins connected, ground and 2 outputs.
It recorded when either the mute or monitor was selected, both muted the speaker output.

This is mini jack to din I bought to connect Mojo to 62. Again only 3 pins connected.

As I say, the cable “direction” is different, but the connected pins on the DIN are the same. I’ve just swapped one of my Naim/Chord Chrysalis RCA - DIN source leads around and it works the other way DIN - RCA. Chord likely offers them as different interconnects as the cable “directivity” (i.e. the direction in which they feel the cable sounds best) is only one way so the DIN-RCA and the RCA-DIN interconnects will be differently marked for direction.

That is the case with cables specifically designed for use with Naim source components.
There will be hundreds of examples on eBay where this is not the case. A din to RCA will have the output pins connected.