#Orbit turntable plus

Larry Crane made fun of me over this option, but when vinyl-listening, I'm either too caffeinated or drunk to be trusted to safely 'drop the needle,' so I stand by my choice. I chose a Grado cartridge due to my familiarity with that company's line. Additionally, these platters are machined in Ohio, making me think other manufacturers would charge a mint for a similar upgrade. It added about $75 to the price, but the improvement to low-frequency reproduction is noticeable. First, I chose the acrylic platter over the stock MDF.

#Orbit turntable plus

My Orbit Plus deviated from the base configuration as I added some upgrades. All you need is a stereo receiver or amp with phono inputs, or a dedicated RIAA phono preamp, and you're ready to go. Having the tonearm and cartridge already set up correctly on arrival is a big plus. While some savvy audiophiles enjoy setting azimuth and balance, and playing with gram weights and protractors (go for it!), some of us just want to play a record. Likewise, an experienced human balances the tonearm to match stylus weight. Of critical importance, the cartridge comes factory installed and aligned. Also included is a dust cover, felt mat, and RCA cables. The external belt-drive system decouples the motor from the platter, improving isolation. The Orbit Basic model ships with a precision-gimbal tonearm, pre-installed Audio-Technica cartridge, low-resonance MDF platter, and vibration-damping feet. U-Turn, on the other hand, focuses on the guts of a basic player, minimizing spending on non-essential 'looks only' features, and sells direct to the public. I am happy to report that a decent, affordable turntable is now available!Ī lot goes into the final cost of a typical turntable: the actual parts, assembly, cosmetic features, marketing, and distributor fees. Fast forward to today, and I've lived with my U-Turn Orbit Plus for over a year. I signed up and waited (often impatiently) for the first models to ship. The group was promising a turntable starting at $179. A few weeks later, I found a Kickstarter campaign for a Massachusetts-based startup, U-Turn Audio. For those interested in actually listening to their records, the main issues were the cost of new turntables, the rumored encumbrance that you can't 'just plug it in to your stereo,' and the trepidation of having to 'adjust' the needle.Īt that time, high-quality entry-level turntables sold for at least $500, so I understood the concerns. The rest purchased vinyl to support the band, to collect, or to hold onto until they got a player. Out of curiosity, I surveyed, 'What turntable do you use?' To my surprise, only one person of the two dozen I asked actually owned a record player.

All the kids were looking at the vinyl releases on display. So I was at the studio holiday party a while back.