The turntables from the 1970s are considered to be the pinnacle of turntables. The Mies i100 and PS Sprout are both good examples of this. There also has been a recent trend towards smaller integrated amplifiers with PHONO capabilities. There are more pre-amps on the market now than a few years ago, and I think we will continue to see the options expand. I am not sure that dedicated stereo receivers will ever make a true comeback. You think modern receivers/tuners will ever bring back PHONO? Companies like Onkyo and Marantz still make great stereo receivers with PHONO inputs, but most receivers these days are audio-visual (AV) receivers. This device is easy to retrofit to any Orbit, and will assist in lowering and lifting the stylus. One example is the Orbit Cue, which will be released in early 2015. But we are working on creating add-ons that will give people additional functionality if they choose. Will we ever see an automatic turntable? Probably not. That said, we are working on a separate pre-amp that will be released this year. This is also why we offer platter and cartridge choices, as well as add-ons such as the Orbit Cue and cork mat. Some people would prefer a built-in pre-amp, but others would just bypass it altogether-we don’t want to sell people something they don’t need. I’m assuming there’s no built-in pre-amp because it would take up space? We try to keep the turntable itself as minimal as possible, so people have flexibility when building out their setup. Simplicity also lends itself to easier setup and use, which is important since turntables have a tendency to intimidate new listeners. Keeping the table as simple as possible allowed us to focus on the music-making components of the table while keeping the price low. What was the inspiration(s) for the overall design aesthetic? It’s clear that the turntable should be displayed…. With vinyl rising in popularity, it was clear that there was a need for a reasonably priced turntable that truly sounded great. Vintage tables can sound great, but owning one is a burden for casual listeners-they require a ton of maintenance and parts can be hard to find.
![u turn orbit u turn orbit](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zHGcIfgBYD4/maxresdefault.jpg)
So our choices were limited to cheap tables with ceramic cartridges that sound awful and damage records, or vintage tables. As recent college graduates, we didn’t have a lot of money to spend.
![u turn orbit u turn orbit](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0248/6216/products/uturn-orbit-pro-11.jpg)
![u turn orbit u turn orbit](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41BshY7YbwL._SL500_.jpg)
Why make turntables? We had been listening to vinyl for a while, but were really discontent with the turntables available a few years ago. We sat down with Ben Carter of U-turn to get the lowdown on what it took to make Orbit and why. We love music and we really dig small companies that decide to say, “fuck it, we’re doing this our way.” U-turn Audio is one such company-audiophiles who decided to make turntables. Get access to everything we publish when you