Ed’s System

Rex, it’s Ed talk, that’s why I have my interpreters at work and home [emoji851]

Was saying yes to Randy, meaning the Orbit Special will take some burn in but don’t think to the extent of amps, cables etc, but it’s a “think” statement as this is all new to me.

I don’t know what makes the greatest contribution between the arm, cartridge and table, I’ve heard so many different takes, so I’ll figure it out.

What I do know is the Orbit Special is sounding better than the Orbit, and they both use the same arm, so this means the cartridge and plinth are contributing something positive.

And you know you will be here before, during and after the Kuzma shows up.




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Kuoppis said:
Belts are tricky, need to be replaced every now and then etc. To address that problem you might see some new ideas in my system soon as well.

To use the in-built phono pre, while having a Boulder sitting in the rack, would be kind of odd, wouldn’t it? [emoji3]

Btw, 50 is a cool number.

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Cool, looking forward to see what you come up with on belt ideas.

There is no way I’m bypassing the Boulder, it needs to work!

Thanks on the 50 [emoji3577]


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Having my Denon 103R cartridge rebuilt by Soundsmith with the saphire and line contact diamond really made a difference. Cartridge does quite a bit too. Its kind of odd how such things are such an influence. Is that a blurr of truth in what is really on the vinyl.
 
The table looks great than what is posted on the u-turn website :thumbsup: I am very interested to know how close it can get to a decent digital setup (say in a $10k range). If I buy one, I would want to do some serious listening, slowly grow my vinyl collection and hence the quality needs to be at least at par or more. If u-turn is not the answer, than what is ? Thanks for all the updates and please keep them coming....
 
So far, after listening for one evening, the U-Turn seems pretty darn nice, especially for the money. I purchased the "special" because I wanted the wood base. They do also offer the Blue Ortofon. I got the Red and it seems to work nicely.

I am sure there will be some run in. First very short impressions:

Cons:
* The pops and clicks. The albums are new and cleaned but there are definitely some still there.
* The cleaning and prepping to play an album (dust, static, etc., etc., very careful handling the albums)
* The short time (single side of an album) compared to digital
* Not as dynamic as my digital

Pros:
* Nice looking and appears solidly made
* Great value
* Seems to be musical, especially with acoustic guitar (very good body for lack of better term)
* Sound stage, separation, and imaging is really really good (actually surprisingly good)
 
Very nice to see some of you Digital only guys trying a vinyl setup. Psst...it’s part of the hobby. One doesn’t have to beat the other. Enjoy both for their unique qualities and the enjoyment of another great, and historic part of the hobby.


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Devg said:
The table looks great than what is posted on the u-turn website :thumbsup: I am very interested to know how close it can get to a decent digital setup (say in a $10k range). If I buy one, I would want to do some serious listening, slowly grow my vinyl collection and hence the quality needs to be at least at par or more. If u-turn is not the answer, than what is ? Thanks for all the updates and please keep them coming....
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The Orbit Special is IMO a little gem. If I had known about this earlier, it would have been in place serving duty much earlier, why?

Aside from being a cost effective solution to Analog, the table itself is decently constructed, good looking and simply just works.

It’s made by a good company located in Massachusetts, their marketing on the web site was easy to follow, they have been quickly responsive on a question, the product was packaged exceptionally well, setup was literally less than 5 minutes.

In my system, my digital is really really good, and that’s a whole other story in itself.

Digital is often placed in a position that has to measure up to Analog and it should not have to be, it’s two completely different sources, and both have a purpose.

Now as far as sound quality, it goes back to what’s music has been selected, no differently than digital. What comes out of the Orbit Special is a smooth transfer of sound. Now like most things as you begin to climb the ladder improvements can be had producing better soundstage, lower noise floor, dynamics and more, but again something like the Orbit Special is a great place to start!

To maximize playback, there are guidelines to follow with care and placement, then the options of cables, isolation, phono stages and other pieces of the whole as you go down the line.

What I do hear that differs is the analog is straight forward, old school in a way. The term digital is thrown around, like it sounds digital and I now hear why some people say that, but there is nothing wrong with it, if done right Digital gives you ease of playback, and excellent playback at that.

With what I am hearing with the Orbit Special is magical in its own right, it has earned a place in my system. The naturalness of the playing and hearing the record at a cost that’s more than reasonable in audio won my vote.

Is there something better out there? Maybe, but it’s hard to be disappointed from the point of you don’t like it, simply return it.

I am having a lot of fun with this, and love being able to physically play and handle the media.




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Kingrex said:
Having my Denon 103R cartridge rebuilt by Soundsmith with the saphire and line contact diamond really made a difference. Cartridge does quite a bit too. Its kind of odd how such things are such an influence. Is that a blurr of truth in what is really on the vinyl.
Click to expand...

Back to a game of points depending how far you want to explore, and you only have to go as far as you want.


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I can say, with only three albums, that there is definitely differences depending on recording and pressing quality. For example, I started with these three albums (will probably pick up a couple more at lunch today :)).

Pink Floyd Animals: Remastered and on 180g vinyl. Very well done, great recording very good pressing. Still some pops and clicks but very nice, especially the acoustic guitar pieces. Incredible sound stage.

Lana Del Ray NFR: New double album, and I know, I am strange, but I really enjoy her music. Listening to only one album of the two so far. I really like the music but the pressing definitely is not as well done. A bunch more noise, etc. Real good separation though, and some solid deep base tracks.

Beck Modern Guilt: Definitely in between. Much better done then the LDR album, but not nearly as well done as Animals!

Anyway, it shows me that Vinyl, like digital, really does come down to recording and production also. There are advantages and disadvantages to both formats.

However, one thing that is amazing is how really good the U-Turn Orbit Special really is, even if its price was not the first concern. When you then add in the price it is a holy crap, what a value. I got the version with the built in phono pre-amp. Over all output is about the same level as my digital. It seems like a solid pre-amp, again for the money a steal. Another nice thing is that the U-Turns are up-gradable in many ways.
 
Funny Ed. Could we twist your satisfaction and overall happiness with the UTurn for a moment. If it's that simple and inexpensive to be happy, only a $250 inveatment in an analog front end, why did you/we waste $200,000 on everything else. You could have been content with pretty decent sound for $1,500 into everything else, right?
 
My quick answer is that we are all F'n crazy :D... The U-Turn Orbit Special with phono pre sells for $529. And, again, just dipping my toe in. My buddy just spent over $2k for a new cartridge. I do not think I will be at that level in vinyl, but we never know :).
 
Kingrex said:
Funny Ed. Could we twist your satisfaction and overall happiness with the UTurn for a moment. If it's that simple and inexpensive to be happy, only a $250 inveatment in an analog front end, why did you/we waste $200,000 on everything else. You could have been content with pretty decent sound for $1,500 into everything else, right?
Click to expand...

At RMAF, I seen and heard great systems at $1000, $2000 on up, it does not need to be over $300K retail to sound good, this has always been my belief.

In the end, it’s like a car. Chevy and Ford are good cars, nothing wrong with them, but they also make Cadillac’s, Bentleys and Rolls Royces for a reason.




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Randy Myers said:
My quick answer is that we are all F'n crazy :D... The U-Turn Orbit Special with phono pre sells for $529. And, again, just dipping my toe in. My buddy just spent over $2k for a new cartridge. I do not think I will be at that level in vinyl, but we never know :).
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When the time is right, consider the Ortofon Blue, their highest option that presumably matches the arm and table. It’s very clear to me moving from the 5 to the 2 increases performance and can only imagine the Blue.

In the interim, enjoy this what you have and if you have isolation footers try them - I think you’ll like it!


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UltraFast69 said:
At RMAF, I seen and heard great systems at $1000, $2000 on up, it does not need to be over $300K retail to sound good, this has always been my belief.

In the end, it’s like a car. Chevy and Ford are good cars, nothing wrong with them, but they also make Cadillac’s, Bentleys and Rolls Royces for a reason.




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If I order one, I will probably order with the Blue. Ortofon also seems to make 2M Bronze ($440) and 2M Black ($775). I am curious, does a better cartridge scale up in SQ with any turntable or does it depend on the table, arms etc ?
 
I would order the Blue direct from U-Turn and enjoy it, and probably not go higher than the Bronze. With the Blue, it will already be mounted for you, and any other cartridge not offered then you are on your own for mounting and setting, or you will need support if you have little to no experience.

The upgrade from the Orbit to the Special jumped in sound quality, with only the cartridge and plinth being the variables. With that being said, I would put more weight towards the cartridge over the resonance of solid wood.

In the end, it's all cumulative, and IMO everything matters; Cartridge, Arm, Table, Motor, Bearing, Isolation, heck even the controversial power cable, and it goes on from there.

I am all ears for anything said that is not right, over preference.
 
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