• The U-Turn Orbit Basic turntable is an affordable record player and ideal starter hardware for folks who are new to vinyl.
• It’s incredibly easy to set up, with few moving parts.
• And even without special features or new tech, it generates that warm, full sound that keeps bringing music fans back to records.

Getting into vinyl doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. Audio gear, including record players, speakers, and even coveted vintage records can cost several hundred or even thousands of dollars, but you can get started with a much smaller investment if you focus on the basics. When you strip away the bells and whistles, all you truly need is a turntable with a smooth motor, a stable platter, and a high-quality cartridge to convert the grooves on your record into music.

That’s the beauty of U-Turn’s Orbit Basic turntable. It’s a simple, clean record player that’s easy to use, even if you’re new to playing music on vinyl, and gives you that distinctly warm playback without any fuss.

Most record players, including most of the ones I’ve recommended over the years, have dozens of small features that enhance sound quality, cater to more complex audio setups, and (unfortunately) drive up their prices. While those features are often useful, I like the Orbit Basic specifically because it doesn’t have them. Instead it offers only the bare essentials: A belt-drive motor that you adjust manually, a fiberboard platter, a felt turntable mat, a magnesium tonearm with a counterbalance weight, and not much else. Instead of getting lost in the minutiae of the hardware, you can focus on the thing that really matters: Your music.

The belt drive motor on the Orbit Basic is remarkably simple. The belt wraps around the platter and the driver in the top-left corner of the turntable. When you turn the player on, it spins the platter at either 33 1/3 or 45 rpm. If you’re new to vinyl, records come in different sizes, and need to rotate at different speeds to play properly. Setting up the belt was pretty straightforward, though admittedly it took me a few tries to get it to line up evenly on the indent on the outer rim of the platter.

Unlike most players I’ve tested, where the motor in the player speeds up or slows down, the Orbit Basic adjusts speed by using a slightly wider section of the drive that you can slip the belt onto. The larger section speeds up the rotation on the platter, making it suitable for 45s. This design reduces the number of mechanical parts, but can make changing speeds a slightly more laborious process.

In the same vein, it is worth keeping in mind that, with a belt drive motor, the player will not automatically stop when a record ends, so you’ll want to come back and raise the needle so it doesn’t wear out. These are hassles, but minor ones. On the whole, the motor does its job and does it well.

Like most high-end models, the U-Turn Orbit Basic has a tonearm that must be manually balanced by a counterweight, which improves sound quality and protects your stylus from bending or breaking. It also has an internal anti-skate feature to prevent skipping or scratching.

That said, I had to pretty much eyeball the counterweight. Most other record players have markers and indicators to help get it just right, while I had to just get as close to what looked good and make adjustments as needed. There is also no cue arm that would slowly lift and lower the tonearm onto the record, so I had to do it myself as gently as I could.

None of the Orbit Basic’s quirks, or its affordable price, would matter if it didn’t deliver that distinct vinyl sound. Luckily, it delivers. Listening to Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, it became readily apparent that the record player punches well above its price tag. The soundscape is surprisingly full, and I was able to distinctly hear individual instruments and vocals. Somewhere between the brass on “God Only Knows” and the melancholic vocals on “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,” the sterile office melted away and I was sent back to California, where all good Beach Boys songs are meant to be heard.

The U-Turn Orbit Basic doesn’t do anything unique and it isn’t a perfectly designed machine, but it nails the basics. Once you get the hang of its setup and operation, it runs smoothly and consistently with minimal vibration or interference. You get strong sound, and you don’t need to drop a boatload of cash to get it.

I think that most record fans, as they get more into audio, will eventually outgrow this player. There are a lot of reasons to spend more on turntables like the Denon DP-500BT, with its Bluetooth connectivity and vibration-resistant chassis, or the more precise audio of ultra hi-fi Fluance RT85N. But for now, if you don’t know much about record players and don’t already make listening to vinyl a habit, the Orbit Basic has the goods. You will hear what makes listening to music on vinyl so special. In the beginning, that’s all you need.

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