The $150 Orbit Turntable from U-Turn Audio

Came across this Kickstarter campaign for a $150 turntable. Has a video on the page.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/uturnaudio/the-orbit-turntable-0

 

Wow, that looks really cool! Being developed in my own backyard too, have to look them up. I hope they reach their goal, if it's even close to being as good as they make it sound, I bet they will do pretty well! Nice looking too.

 

It might be possible to make a $150 turntable that was any good if the quantity were high enough, but I think the quantity would have to be really high.

 

cool I wish them luck

 

Loooong thread on audiokarma about this...

 

Looks nice for $150, I wish them luck. However the "U-turn" brand has kind of a bogus sound to it. I knew a guy that said he had a "go round" turntable with "hear good" speakers. U-Turn sorta reminds me of that.

 

Signed up for one. Hope they can pull it off.

 

I'm all in favor of reasonably priced record players to enable people to 'get into' vinyl, particularly youngsters who don't have the disposable income to buy fancy gear. And i guess, over a modest system, something like this might be OK. My biggest concern about budget record players is simply that people have a mediocre experience, and then say 'what's all the fuss about vinyl.' Knowing how much time (and money) it can take to get it right, I'm not sure any of the cheap new tables really deliver at the level that makes people go 'WoW!' Now i get what all the fuss is about' But, since I haven't listened to the latest crop of relatively inexpensive turntable/tone arm combos, I'm speculating here. I gather that the VPI Traveler is OK, but that's based only on anecdotal comments. FWIW, I lived with a Well-Tempered (original) table/arm for years, and it was more than a taste of what a serious record player can deliver, at relatively little money, especially used. So, bring 'em on.
(and, not to stir the pot too much, I wonder sometimes how much vinyl is a 'fad' as opposed to a choice for quality playback.)
Which may be a whole other subject....

 

Maybe the kids don't need to spend $5,000 on a turntable to enjoy music. After all, such turntables didn't exist for the first three or four decades of vinyl reproduction and I don't recall a lot of tears being shed.

 

Right, i'm not being elitist about it. But what's in those 50 year old grooves sometimes blows me away. And you are right about not needing to spend much to get the gist of the music. Vinyl playback can be more than that, though, far more, if done with care; it can be just phenomenal. But it takes time and effort and (unfortunately), money. And some of those old tables, like the Garrard 301 and SP-10mk II, are fetching serious numbers these days, once you add the base or plinth, a good arm, etc.
Frankly, vinyl is a giant PITA. But, I've stuck with it from my childhood as my main medium for serious playback. And have gradually kept working on the front end. Would I advocate somebody going out and spending crazy money on a SOTA turntable and phono stage unless they were totally committed? No way.

 

I've been very happy with my Pro-ject Debut III and stock everything, with audioengine 5 speakers. I know that compared to most on the forum, this set up is a joke but I really enjoy what I'm hearing over any mp3s and most of the CDs I've had for years. I have a mono copy of Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A'Changin' and Boots of Spanish Leather almost brings me to tears sometimes. I briefly had a stereo copy that sounded great, but didn't have the magic of the mono. And friends who I've had over for record nights feel the same way about a lot of the records we spin. So I think that bargain tables really can deliver that "Wow!" factor if given the chance.

And knowing this, I really look forward to going through my entire, albeit small, collection with every upgrade.

 

Good. My concern (and if I was coming off like a snob, it wasn't my intention), was that all the new love for vinyl in the last couple years would be a passing fancy if folks weren't able to extract real performance from a budget turntable. And, upgrade-itis or audio-nervosa is not a good state of mind either. My first table (a real one, not the folks' all in one) was an AR, back in around 1970 or so. And other than setting stylus pressure, I don't think there was much else do to (I don't even remember if it had any 'anti-skate' adjustment). It was pretty much plug and play and I didn't give it much thought.

 

Yes, "U-Turn" as a company name is a bit worrisome. For spinning vinyl I'd hope for a full 360 degree revolution (well more than one actually).

 

I am tentatively excited about this. It's been hard to talk some of my friends out of the $100 turntables that I know will kill their records; if there was a turntable that only cost $150 that I could recommend wholeheartedly as a decent entry point, it would help a lot. It doesn't even have to be that good, it just has to be something that can actually be set up properly, rather than some of the Crosley players that folks I know have.

 

The look of the deck's design is very promising. I wish them luck. It really doesn't take all that much in parts cost to make a $150 sound better. The AR XA, properly set up with the right—that is to say lower compliance—cartridge could sound wonderful, being just adjustable enough to deal with overhang but not enough to adjust VTA without shims or anti-skating of any sort. But its lack of "Bells and Whistles" meant a lot less to break or wear out. I wish the folks at U-Turn luck in coming up with the new AR XA.

 

This might be just the item that pushes me to give vinyl a shot...does anyone have a similarly flavored stand-alone phono preamp that they would recommend? My integrated amp does not have a phono input option...

 

Oh, no. You didn't come off as a snob at all, I just wanted to chime in with my experience from the low end of the audiophile spectrum. I feel that often times people tend to think of the vinyl resurgence as being led by "hipsters" who are buying vinyl b/c it's retro and cool, and not really caring about the sound quality. That may be true to an extent, but I think a lot of people around my age are appreciating vinyl because of what it sonically offers over the CDs and mp3s we came of age listening to. That's the idea I get from observing my friends who are also getting into analogue, and the conversations I've had with others in and around record stores and parties. My age group may also be reaching a point of digital over-saturation, but that's a discussion for another thread.

 

That is great, because that's exactly the stereotype I had in mind. Good for you, Mikeyt. Enjoy your system. And, if you haven't looked at it, check out die hipster . com. It is pretty funny.
I'm an aged hipster,

 

Then Pro-Ject phono box is a good product at an affordable price.

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/phonoboxdc.htm

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/phonoboxs.htm

 

Looks very promising but how does one lift the tonearm from the record?

 

With your fingers. There is no cueing lift.

 

The lack of a queuing lift bugs me.

Sent from my AT300 using Tapatalk 2

 

Wow. No cueing lift? Thanks. I didn't notice that. I don't have a real steady hand, and it doesn't get any better as I get older. Also, sometimes I like to have a beer or two, and that makes it even worse. I may be out. The table does look cool though.

 

They posted the specs last night. Anyone have any thoughts?