U-Turn Orbit Theory- Can It Compete With A Flagship Vintage Turntable?

We had a blast putting this new U-turn Theory turntable through the paces. Kevin shares his thoughts on its value and whether it stacks up against a flagship turntable from the golden era of 70s stereo equipment.

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[CraigHollabaugh]

Kevin, I don't consider this type of video a commercial. We enjoy your commentary about everything else, this UTurn is yet another piece of quality equipment. Thanks for Moving in Stereo.

ps. I just asked my wife for a new Cars album for my birthday ( I'm impossible to buy for ) My old one from 1978 has been played 100s of times over the years.

[nelssorenson]

I love mine, got it when they first came out with the Bronze cartridge! It is addictive to use and listen to.

[rc]

Great review. I bought an Orbit in 2015, I was just getting back into vinyl. I freaking loved it. It sounded amazing for the money. Since then, I’ve upgraded to a Rega P8, but I still have the Orbit in my secondary system and it still sounds great.

I’m thinking about upgrading from the Orbit to the Theory. This video reminded me about everything I love about this company and their dedication to making great gear here in the U.S.

I loved your thoughtful, thorough approach to the review. It’s clear your conclusions are unbiased despite getting a free review unit. That is usually not true with other reviewers.

[mph]

I have an Orbit with an Ortofon Blue, and it’s great. U-Turn makes really nice stuff for the price.

[alexw]

The fully machined and grooved platter is a huge plus as well.

[DanielHog]

Just discovered your CH. Subscribed. Am AV engineer, old repairer, vinyl owner, speaker designer, occasional VC viewer. Own some great vintage gear as well. Will look through your vids this month. Thanks.

[johnvincent]

Kevin, thanks for the review on new equipment. Whats makes the audio hobby so much fun is we can mix new with vintage and get great sound. And I want to get that Cars audiophile debut album. Its one of the greatest debut album of all time.

[mkfmkf]

Well stated, a removable headshell would definitely have been a nice choice for this upgraded model. or make the removable headshell an available option for those who prefer it.

[sampsonpaul]

Wow, I really enjoyed this video. Thanks Kevin for this 🙂

[Zzz-lzkb]

Very satisfied Theory w/Bronze owner here. Also own a very large collection of vintage gear. I almost always prefer vintage. The U-Turn Orbit Theory is worthy of Golden Era status.

[blucas]

Great review! Appreciate your thoughtful analysis. Looking forward to visiting your shop on next road trip to CO this fall.

[sopasadena]

I had a choice between a new TT or a refurbished Dual CS 721. I went with the Dual. The Theory has a better warranty. That is the advantage. So far the Dual sounds fine and has better torque to allow use of discwasher. It also has removable cartridge sleds. A Grado Prestige Gold sounds fantastic on the Dual 721

[frankierodriguez]

Great table, minimalistic and with amazing looks. for one grand I believe this is a win win. Thanks Kevin!

[mebikerace]

Another helpful video. I have an Orbit Theory with the Bronze cartridge and after resurrecting my vinyl love the Theory has been very impressive to my fresh vinyl ears but even impressing my long time vinyl loving friends. But the best part about the U-Turn, is the customer service. Something happened to motor and after a quick email and video showing the issue they sent a RA number and packing slip. I packed it up and shipped it back and within two days of them having it I received and email explaining the issue and fix. Stuff happens with high precision gear and after going out on a limb with U-Turn they have won me over with a great sounding turntable and crazy good customer service. Now I am back to enjoying the music without worrying about what I am playing it on.

[CentralIowa]

Two thumbs up for U-Turn. I have the walnut U-Turn Orbit with the Ortofon red that I got from Skylabs and it's been solid. I'm more familiar with 1970s turntables than what's new when making comparisons. I like that U-Turn is a USA company making simple, but functional gear. I'm willing to pay more to support a domestic company. You give up some of the nerd-out features with these turntables that more complicated ones had back in the hey-day, but they're not really necessary things for most use cases. The most important part of any turntable for me is how quiet it is and my U-Turn is much quieter than a Pro-Ject Debut III I spent way too much money trying to make quiet. I had more money wrapped up into the Pro-Ject than the U-Turn cost me and they were basically identical specs (acrylic platter, 2M red cartridges.) The Pro-Ject with its AC motor never lost its hum.

[Rheasound]

Excellent and objective review. The sound and how addictive is to use it, IMO is because how simple, solid and well made it is. My hat off for UTurn Audio.

[DANVIIL]

Bought one yesterday and will pair it with the amazing Rogue Sphinx v3 integrated amp with its tube preamp and also made in the USA.

[UntitledKirk]

U-Turn makes fantastic turntables; been dying to get my hands on a Theory. Thanks for the video covering it.

[williamnow]

Mine just arrived on Friday and I really like it. You can tell it is built solid. I’m upgrading from a Fluance which while it sounded good you can definitely tell the difference in the overall build quality. Normally, the inability to switch out headshells would be a minus, I have finally settled on the Ortofon Blue cart. And I like that it is USA built. Goes well with my LRS speakers and Schiit components.

[vespa]

Another great review Kevin ! my added $.03, agree that at this $ point, the included RCA cable should have been an upgrade from the same generic ones they provide with their $200 turntable. should be a set of cables with some sort of brand name (anybody's) on them. there is no mention on their website or your review about the advantage of having a three feet design in leveling a turntable, the included bubble level is a nice touch.
Big props for making the preparatory replacement belt available for the cost of a generic replacement belt from other manufacturers, also a replacement dust cover is only $40.
Electronic speed control is a definite upgrade/bonus (no mention of speed adjustment/fine tuning). I think it has become an audiophile "myth" that manual speed change is somehow better or "more pure" than electronic switching. Technics (+ others) have long ago mastered the "Quartz Lock", "Frequency Generator Servo Feedback", etc. method of speed control. 'nuff said.
But the real deal breaker for me (besides the $$$$) is the lack of auto lift/stop at end of playback, nothing sadder than returning to your turntable hours/day later and seeing the turntable still trying to play that last mysterious inner groove message. Yes I know about the various aftermarket tonearm lift mechanisms available, but I also feel that it's another "myth" that real "High-End" turntables mustn't have this feature.
full disclosure, my current record spinner is a Technics SL-DD22, (in cool black !) direct drive, semi-auto (return). picked up for $30 off of somebody's front porch. cheers, Peter