New U-Turn Orbit

I needed (wanted) a new turntable for the den/main listening room and looked at several low/mid budget machines from Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, Pioneer, even considered a demo VPI Nomad. Having read positive stories about U-Turn, and in particular their customer service, I decided to get a Walnut Orbit Custom with onboard pluto preamp and Ortofon 2m blue cartridge. This is their highest cost machine and it set me back $660USD (ouch), but I was enticed by that true hardwood plinth made from Pennsylvania Walnut. Here are my thoughts after about 20 hours of listening through a Pioneer AVR and Focal 726 speakers, and let me note that I am not an experienced analog consumer nor have a golden ear, so take the following with those things in mind:

The machine arrived within 6 days of ordering and U-Turn provided notification of shipping and tracking info. The unit arrived well-packaged in recyclable materials. Set up was simple. They ship their machines with cartridges installed and aligned, counterweights set and cue device installed as well. Double-checking the VTF and alignment revealed no problems. Installation of the platter belt was simple. For the acrylic platter I bought a 1/8 cork mat to replace their felt mat.

The plinth is just beautiful. It is a flat plank of solid dark walnut with a smooth matte finish. The supplier did a beautiful job of grain selection and finishing the edges. I'm no cabinet maker, but this plinth is really gorgeous.

Turning on the machine reveals a dead-quiet motor. Even with my ear right next to the pulley as it spins I cannot hear motor noise. This is my first machine with an exposed pulley and external platter drive. It's smooth and quiet and the motor assembly is highly isolated from the plinth in soft rubber material. Using a cellphone RPM app the Orbit got to steady speed within a few seconds and stayed right on 33.4 RPM with no wavering. Does it run at exactly 33.3 RPM when rotating a record and dragging a stylus across it? I don't know, but it sounds right on to me, although I have no other equipment to test further.

The tonearm is the newer gimbaled 9" unit with a counterweight that can accept cartridges up to 7.2g, which happens to be the weight of the 2m blue. Truth be told, there is still quite a bit of length for movement of the counterweight in both directions, so I would guess that it can accept a wider array of cartridge weights than U-Turn advertises. The tonearm moves freely and smoothly through its range of motion and I've had no tracking issues so far. Antiskate is said to be preset. The counterweight is not calibrated but in playing around with it I have found it very easy to microadjust using a digital VTF gauge. The fit and finish on the tonearm and cue lever are first rate, far better than earlier Orbit models I saw in person.

Another area where U-Turn has improved the product is the dust cover. Earlier units included a rounded-edged and flimsy dust cover that I found off-putting. They have replaced that cover with a square-edged, thick and more rigid cover that looks and feels much more substantial than before. Its edges meet with the plinth precisely when closed, and coupled with the walnut plinth and satin tonearm, the machine just looks great sitting on its console.

The sound of this machine is great, although I have no truly high-end equipment. It is rock-steady, dead quiet and the music coming forth sounds wonderful. I like the 2m blue a lot compared to a Grado blue and Shure M97xe in other turntables I own. There are loads of detail, great highs, solid lows, just great sound to my ears. What really impresses me about the Orbit is the simple smoothness of it, the dead stillness to be felt in quiet passages. I have no idea how this sound would stack up to "better" machines and I never will, because I am really, really happy with this sound and do not feel compelled to improve upon it.

I do have a couple of quibbles. The platter is beautiful but has a tiny bit of wobble. Because of the machined platter edge, which looks great but draws the eye, if I sit close with my eyes at platter level I can just barely make out a wobble. Second, the cue device drops the arm more quickly than I'm used to and I feel compelled to "milk" it down. Lastly, U-Turn still installs plastic flex-hinges that attach the dust cover to the plinth. They work, but allow only fully open and fully closed dust cover operation, and I worry about their longevity. If they would just enhance the hinges there would be not even a hint of cheapness to the overall presentation of their machine. I emailed U-Turn on Friday morning and am happy to report that Friday afternoon they (and by they, I mean Ben, one of the owners) asked me to send video of the table in action. It is true that they respond very quickly and in a friendly manner, and I have no doubt that they will make my minor issues right and it'll happen this week.

I am very pleased with this machine and the service I've gotten from U-Turn. It has a 2-year warranty, it's made in the US, from mostly US-sourced materials, has great sound, beautiful fit and finish, I'm not sure what else I could want in a record player. In this age of remote purchasing, genuinely excellent customer service is rare and it matters to me, a lot! The Orbit is worthy of consideration as a great machine in its own right, but when you factor in their attentive customer service and their commitment to making their products better, it would be tough to beat them. I hope they continue to grow and prosper in the years ahead.

 

Thanks for supporting our local economy!

Now how 'bout a few pics??

 

Very thoughtful post. You would NOT be getting that sort of personal service from most budget turntable companies. VPI is on another level, of course.

That being said, U-Turn is a relatively new company and they're going to have growing pains. You shouldn't have the wobble. I'm glad they're taking care of you.

 

I wonder if the perceived wobble is from a machining error/tolerance or the fit of the platter bearing. Did you get the acrylic platter?

I had some wobble when I had an acrylic platter on a Debut Carbon that I used to own. From what I understand, it's difficult to machine acrylic into a perfect platter form.

I like the U-turn concept and I've only heard good comments about their customer service. Many of the boutique brands fall short in that area.

 

Thanks for sharing your initial impressions. Please post pictures!

 

Kinda like this? ...

 

OK shame on me but I cannot figure out how to add pics to a post here! If someone can provide a primer I'll add several pics that I took this afternoon. Thanks.

 

There's quite a few threads about in the forum business section, but the steps are to upload the image to a sharing site (SHTV does not host images), copy url of image, paste here using the img icon or just use img tags.

 

Glad to hear of your happy experience. I bought an Orbit Plus for a second system last August which turned out to have a problem tonearm that skipped forward an inch into playing a side. I waited a while before contacting U-Turn, but when I did everything was handled very nicely and with great speed. It turned out to be good that I'd waited becuase I wound up getting the new tonearm which had just come out to replace the earlier version, and the problem went away.

 

So I've had the U-Turn for the better part of a week now and wanted to post an update. After discussing the platter with U-Turn I realized that what I thought was a wobble was in fact a change in light refraction coming through the machined edge of the acrylic platter. When I held a straight edge right next to the platter edges I confirmed there is no wobble. Also, the 2m blue now has a good 30 hours of play and sounds wonderful. I asked U-Turn about the plastic hinges used to attach the cover to the plinth and was told that they are called "living hinges". I looked that term up online and found that living hinges can be incredibly durable, often being rated at more than 1 million flex cycles, so I felt better about the durability of the hinges after that bit of research. Lastly, my cue was dropping faster than I wanted and U-Turn offered to replace it for free.

Objectively, this turntable is designed and executed really well. Fit and finish are much better than earlier Orbit models, the tonearm is smooth and reliable. Tracking has been great. The speed is accurate and I hear no pitch instability. I took the bottom cover off to reveal the PCBs and motor, and it is an incredibly simple machine, elegant really in its simplicity. The motor is exceptionally quiet and I have had zero issues needing to fiddle with the belt. Subjectively, this table is a joy. It does exactly what I want, which is to get out of the way and reveal the music. I previously thought of the Orbit as a cheap, serviceable "starter" machine, one that might not be durable but was a great place to start. Those conceptions are true only to a point. I've changed my conception of the Orbit to include that it is simple, elegant, extremely well engineered and likely to be durable and dead easy to service in coming years. While I know there is "more" available through the use of other turntables, there is nothing more that I want in a turntable than the U-Turn.

 

I've had my Orbit w/ walnut since the beginning of the year and I completely agree. I'll probably upgrade to a proper phono stage and cart at some point (I'm using my receiver's phone and the cheapest AT cart U-Turn offers), but this TT is wonderful.

 

Love the wood plinth

 

Friend of mine has one, it's a great table. I'd never again touch a Rega (or similar) with this now out there.

 

I had an early Orbit and returned it partially based on the quality of the dust cover. I'm glad to know they have beefed it up. It may seem like a minor issue, but you interact with it frequently so it does make a huge difference in terms of one's perception of quality.

I second this sentiment!

And this!

 

I wanted to post an update here about my walnut Orbit. I had a weird issue wherein checks of VTF were oddly variable and non-repeatable after resetting the counterweight. I set it and reset it many times over a few days, and the tonearm refused to produce repeatable VTF on my little digital scale. This was with the new U-Turn OA2 tonearm with 2m blue installed. I noticed this after having moved the turntable and intending to double check all of the settings. Anyway, I posted on the hardware forum at that time about checking VTF with tonearms that include factory-preset antiskate, although I received no replies to that question here.

I then contacted U-Turn to ask them about this VTF variability and they indicated that something must be wrong and paid for me to ship the machine back to them. They did not advise what the problem was with the arm when they received it but I would guess something related to binding wires in the arm, or perhaps a bearing issue that I could not feel myself, or even something floating around in the tonearm tube. In the end they replaced the entire tonearm and I received the turntable back today, only 5 days after shipping it off. The tonearm now produces repeatable VTF measurements across it's entire swing, within a hundredth of a gram on my scale. What a relief. I've been listening to it for a couple of hours now and it's a delight.

I wanted to note two things of import here, at least to me: first, if you buy a turntable and are having issues, no matter how small and potentially weird, you owe it to yourself to check into it with the manufacturer/seller; secondly, U-Turn is absolutely fabulous with their customer service, I mean A+ world class, comparable to the best customer service I have ever received, and I'm no spring chicken. Before I bought this machine, I considered the usual suspects in the 300-700 dollar range (new machines only and wasn't interested in DJ-type decks) before buying this machine, and the only machine I would now consider at this point over the Orbit would be the Rega P2, or maybe a used P3, and only because of the massive aftermarket and mod base that comes along for the ride with the purchase of Rega turntables. U-Turn customer service responsiveness, along with the simplicity and great sound of this machine, make it a no-brainer. Based on much of what I've read online about sellers and manufacturers, I shudder when I think about having to try to fix problems with machines in my price range that I might have purchased from other than U-Turn.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying the new table and that customer service is excellent! I recently purchased an Orbit with the 2M Red and have been very happy so far. I'll have to say that I was a little wary of the solid wood plinths- the location I have the turntable in varies significantly in humidity throughout the year and I was worried about the stability of solid wood vs the MDF. I figure if it takes on/loses moisture, at least it will do it more uniformly and shoudn't develop cracks. With that being said, the walnut plinths are indeed beautiful. I opted for the white finish, which looks pretty cool, especially with colored vinyl. I also keep mine in a cabinet with a door, so it's rarely actually visible.

 

Glad to hear from another Orbit user rcsrich. As far as the plinth, I believe they bond at least three different boards together to make the plinths in order to avoid warpage. I'm hopeful that there won't be any problems with the plinth, because it surely does look nice! I paid a pretty penny for the wood and for the 2m blue, so the machine wound up costing more than $650 (with Pluto internal preamp) delivered but, assuming it ages well, I find that price reasonable. Their basic model is so reasonably priced that I'm considering selling my other admittedly-pedestrian machines (Fluance) to replace them with Orbit basics. They're fine but I simply don't like them as much.

 

Oh- and resonance...I figure the MDF is less likely to transmit vibration.

Full disclosure- I'm probably a little nuts.

 

Question for those who have one: is it easy to remove the dustcover? I am thinking of getting one but I never play a table with the dustcover on.

 

Very

 

I remove mine every time I use it. No issues.

 

Note, I did tests, and I believe removing the dustcover raises the noise floor by 5db...

 

Very impressive rise in the market by U-Turn. Sounds like they get the quality and customer service end of things.

The wood finishes look great. I'm not crazy about the silver badge and arm tube bit that's minor.

 

Just clarifying that with the dustcover ON, you measured a lower noise floor, correct?

I ask because I guess intuitively I thought dustcover OFF would yield better noise results. I leave it on for dust and convenience but I'll gladly take lower noise floor with it on!

 

I'm guessing the theory that resonance from the motor could still travel through from the dustcover when it's on and thus affect the sound quality. From my own experience and what @krisbee has noted, putting the dustcover on did reduce the motor rumble/noise, which happened to my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. Though this is happening with the well-known motor hum issue that people reported before I found a solution to get rid of it, which is completely decoupling the motor and let it float with a rubber o-ring band.

Afterwards, leaving the dustcover on or off didn't make a difference to the noise after I fixed the motor hum problem. At least to my ears.