When comparing U-Turn Orbit vs Music Hall usb-1, the Slant community recommends Music Hall usb-1 for most people. In the question“What are the best record players for less than $200?” Music Hall usb-1 is ranked 2nd while U-Turn Orbit is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Music Hall usb-1 is:
This is a belt driven unit, meaning the table is driven by a belt attached to the motor. In certain lower-end tables these belts can make noise as they spin your records. Luckily, the belt drive here is very quiet and won't impact your listening experience in the slightest.
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Pros
Pro Soft and protective MDF platter
A good, soft, scratch resistant platter to keep your records safe while spinning.
Pro Solid tonearm
U-Turn’s tonearms are the same across all their models, and that’s a very good thing. Their tonearm is incredibly impressive for the price with very little friction and virtually no bearing wobble while playing.
Pro Easily upgradeable
While an upgrade right off the bat would bring you over $200, having the option for an upgradable needle cartridge is a huge plus. This also includes different color choices, and ordering custom allows for a maple or walnut finish on the plinth.
Pro Sturdy build quality
Having a solid platter under your vinyl is very important to prevent damage to the record and keep it playing smoothly. The plinth itself is supported by three solid, semi-hard rubber feet that suppress vibration and keep the player steady. The platter is also really securely attached to the plinth, with virtually zero wobble.
Pro Nearly silent belt driven platter
Belt driven platters keep your record playing more smoothly and can prevent skipping. The driver itself is a super quiet AC motor that is next to impossible to hear while playing.
Pro Extremely quiet belt drive
This is a belt driven unit, meaning the table is driven by a belt attached to the motor. In certain lower-end tables these belts can make noise as they spin your records. Luckily, the belt drive here is very quiet and won't impact your listening experience in the slightest.
Pro Solid construction
While the plinth is plastic, at least it's sturdy plastic.
Pro Easy to use speed adjustment
The RPM of the table can be easily adjusted via a knob at the top, which makes dialing in the perfect speed really quick and easy.
Pro Ability to rip vinyls to digital
It has a USB port you can use to plug it in and convert your vinyl collection to digital
Pro Built in preamp
This table has a built in preamp ready to go, so you can plug and play without needing any other equipment. If you run your own preamp though, the built in one is switchable so you can always turn it off.
Cons
Con Simplistic
This turntable is pretty much feature free. It focuses on one thing: Playing records. That means you'll be missing any sort of built in EQ, digital ripping, or bluetooth.
Con Switching RPMs can be a pain
With the Orbit’s external drive belt, swapping RPM from 33 to 45 requires you to actually remove the belt and refit it for the RPM of your record. This can be tricky and time consuming.
Con May experience pitch variation
While listening, you might notice the pitch shift up or down slightly. Occasionally it has troubles holding its speed, which can definitely impact the listening experience.
Con Not-so-great stock needle cartridge
The needle cartridge the unit comes with leaves a bit to be desired. The tone is slightly muddier and darker than you would expect, and can be slightly muted tonally. For an entry player though, it works just fine.
Con Prone to feedback
There is little dampening material here, and the plinth is somewhat resonant, so if you're playing something at high volume you might experience feedback.
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