U-Turn Orbit Basic turntable review – CNET

The Good The precalibrated cartridge cuts the initial setup time down to under five minutes, the Web store has plenty of custom options for colors and upgraded parts, and the turntable has a smooth, clear sound that spans all genres.

The Bad The plastic cover and tone arm holder could be prone to long-term damage from everyday use; some users report speed fluctuations, though none were experienced here.

The Bottom Line The U-Turn Orbit Basic turntable manages to keep costs low while streamlining the set-up and offering shoppers a lot of options to customize the color and build. It’s currently our favorite sub-$200 turntable and deserves the attention of audiophiles and casual listeners alike.

Buy directly from U-Turn

There are plenty of options for turntables under $200 — but not plenty of good ones. If you’ve done any research yet, you’ve likely been advised to stay away from trendy brands like Crosley that make “retro-designed” turntables with cheap, non-replaceable parts that can actually damage your records.

Audio-Technica’s LP60 is a decent option for first-time buyers, but you can’t upgrade the needle or bypass the preamp and some people like to have that option.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The possibility for future upgrades and an attractively minimal design made the U-Turn Orbit a hit on Kickstarter when the campaign initially launched in 2014: it gave audiophiles and vinyl-curious music fans an opportunity to invest in a audiophile-worthy turntable without the complicated set up.

Two years later, the company is still honoring its commitment to US-made parts in its Boston factory. Only the motor, phono cartridge, and a few small plastic molded parts are sourced overseas. U-Turn is also involved in every step of the manufacturing process: each Orbit is put together by hand, goes through a rigorous 15-point quality control regimen, and is listened to by a U-Turn technician before shipping out.

Since that first Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $230,000, U-Turn has quickly earned the favor of vinyl enthusiasts on the Internet and has now expanded its product line to include a bespoke “builder” option that lets customers choose their base color, platter material, cartridge, and more.

Sarah Tew/CNET

U-Turn sent over an Orbit Basic Turntable for this review with the company’s own Pluto preamp already installed (the Builder also gives you this option). The table includes a basic Audio-Technica cartridge preinstalled and comes in a choice of five colors (black, blue, green, red and white) — prices start at $179 US (£124, AU$255 ) and go up depending on your choice of extras.

Design and setup

If you’re looking for a turntable that you can use to DJ, forget about the Orbit and start saving up for the new Technics SL-1200G coming out later this year. The Orbit is a belt-driven turntable, which means it relies on an elastic belt that connects the motor to the record platform, also called a platter, to rotate the record.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Audiophiles prefer belt-driven turntables because they don’t transfer motor noise to the needle as much as direct-drive turntables, but the latter are favored by DJs and casual listeners for their strong torque, quick spin-up times, and durability.

U-Turn designed the Orbit to be as easy as possible to put together when you first get it, and it’s a no-brainer compared to other turntables. Just install the platter over the base and put the felt slip mat on top, then you can plug in the power cord and slide the clear plastic dust cover over the hinges.

All that’s left to do after that is to wrap the large rubber band (also called the belt) around the pulley on the top-left side of the unit. The pulley has two grooves that will spin the platter at 33rpm (top groove) or at 45rpm (bottom groove) depending on the speed of your record.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Let’s pause for a second to talk about workflow. It’s slightly more complicated to adjust the belt position every time you switch between a 33 and a 45, so if you listen to an equal amount of both you might prefer a turntable like the LP120 that has dedicated buttons for each speed.

Everyone else that listens to 33rpm full-length albums the majority of the time probably won’t be touching the belt very often after the initial setup. It’s not very hard to switch to 45rpm every once in awhile, but it does require a little finesse to get the belt to balance evenly across the side of the platter and onto the groove. After awhile, it’ll become second nature.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The base of the turntable, also called the plinth, measures 17 inches by 13 inches (43cm by 33cm) and has three rubber feet on the bottom for dampening external vibrations that could otherwise cause audible skips and distortions in playback. The low voltage AC synchronous motor also sits underneath the plinth and has an open port on the back where you plug in the wall adapter.

If you opt to have the Pluto preamp built into turntable, U-Turn will also install a small box on the rear panel with a small switch to bypass it. That might not mean much right now, but it’ll come in handy in the future if you want to upgrade to a new phono stage. Thankfully, the back of the Orbit also features open RCA ports so you can swap out cables, should they fail over time.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Since there aren’t any speed select buttons, the only physical button is the power switch on the front left side of the turntable. The tone-arm is just as simple to operate, as well, but keep in mind that the way U-Turn keeps costs low is to omit fancy extra features like a tone arm cue lever and auto-return playback.

What you do get is a straight tone arm with a unipivot-style bearing that sits close to the record, so the needle has an easier time accurately tracking inside the record grooves. With no cue lever to help you drop the needle, you need to have a steady hand to grab the finger lift on the tone arm’s head shell, but it’s worth noting that the company also sells a lever separately for $40 (£27.85, AU$56.98) that installs underneath the tone arm rest.

Sony to shutter its native PSP store at the end of March

Sony announced on Monday that it will shutter the PSP’s native store on March 31, 2016. Customers will still be able to purchase PSP content from the company’s webstore, just not directly through their devices. That said, users will still be able to access their previous purchases from their on-device Download list and can still make in-game purchases directly. This move comes just days after Sony announced that it will no longer sell its PlayStation TV accessory in Japan.

Via: PlayStation (Twitter)

Source: Sony

MasterCard May Support Apple Pay in Canada, Brazil and Asia This Year

Apple Pay is supported by large financial institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, and China, but the mobile payments service can only be used with non-bank-issued American Express credit cards in Australia and Canada. Apple Pay does not support big banks in either country.

That could soon change in at least Canada, as MacRumors has learned that MasterCard has Apple Pay support in that country on its 2016 roadmap. The information is based on an unverified internal document, however, so the plans cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt until other evidence surfaces.

MasterCard credit cards are issued by a number of Canada’s largest banks, including BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust, while store-branded MasterCards are available from large retailers such as Canadian Tire, Costco, and Walmart. Most of these stores and institutions also offer Visa, but their plans remain unknown.

MasterCard is also looking to support Apple Pay in Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore in 2016, according to the document. Apple previously announced that its Apple Pay partnership with American Express will expand to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain this year, while Brazil and Japan would be entirely new markets.

Earlier this month, a hidden “NetworkInterac” string was uncovered in iOS 9.2.1 code that hints at Apple Pay support at Canada’s big banks. Interac is Canada’s official debit card network, adopted by the country’s largest financial institutions nationwide. TD already stirred speculation in October when it inadvertently listed Apple Pay as a method of payment on its website, before quickly removing it.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Apple is preparing to launch Apple Pay in France, and it could make an announcement by September 2016 — perhaps at WWDC in June. The original report did not specify when Apple Pay will become available in French stores, nor did it have information about which French banks and participating issuers will support iPhone payments upon launch.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tags: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, MasterCard
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One of Google’s self-driving cars hit a California municipal bus Feb. 14

One of Google’s self-driving cars was the subject of a collision with another vehicle earlier this month. The car hit a California municipal bus in a minor accident, but it may be the first time one of Google’s automated automotives hit another vehicle.

Reuters reports:

“In a Feb. 23 report filed with California regulators, Google said the Feb. 14 crash took place in Mountain View, Calif., when a self-driving Lexus RX450h sought to get around some sandbags in a wide lane. The vehicle and the test driver “believed the bus would slow or allow the Google (autonomous vehicle) to continue.” But three seconds later, as the Google car reentered the center of the lane it struck the side of the bus, causing damage to the left front fender, front wheel and a driver side sensor.”

No one was injured as a result of the crash. Google’s modified Lexus cars have been on California roads for some time, and in 2015 they were joined by the company’s own prototype self-driving vehicles.

Source: Reuters

Ring unveils its own solar panel for powering its Stick Up Cam security camera

Ring, the company behind a connected doorbell and the Stick Up Cam, has debuted a new product, the Ring Solar Panel. First debuting at CES 2016, the Stick Up Cam can be placed practically anywhere, and the Ring Solar Panel lets you power the camera wherever it ends up.

Like the Stick Up Cam, the solar panel can be mounted nearly anywhere, and comes with its own mounting bracket. You can tilt the panel up or down at multiple angles depending on your needs. The panel plugs directly into the Stick Up Cam using a micro-USB cable, and Ring says it can keep the cam charged with only a few hours of direct sunlight.

You can pre-order the Ring Solar Panel now directly from Ring for the limited-time price of $29, down from the normal price of $49. Solar panels are expected to start shipping in April.

Pre-order at Ring

Spigen is selling select Galaxy S7 and S7 edge cases for $5 at Amazon with coupon

Spigen is offering its selection of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge cases for just $4.99 with a coupon code at Amazon. Each case has its own code, and the discounts only work on the Prime listings for each. Should you be an Amazon Prime member — which you should be by now — you can save on some cases for your new phone before it even arrives. A list of the cases for both phones include:

Galaxy S7 cases

• Wallet Case Black – Coupon: ZKINZUPM
• Ultra Hybrid Crystal Clear – Coupon: RBUTFXSB
• Tough Armor Gunmetal – Coupon: ORCII4EV
• Thin Fit Black – Coupon: JGE5QOOD
• Rugged Armor Black – Coupon: CJY5T4UQ
• Neo Hybrid Satin Silver – Coupon: RBFD7EUJ
• Neo Hybrid Crystal Gunmetal – Coupon: WLP9ZLDE
• Liquid Crystal Clear – Coupon: D669P6MG

Galaxy S7 edge cases

• Wallet S Case Black – Coupon: XW3QR5GY
• Ultra Hybrid Clear Black – Coupon: 8QNXC223
• Tough Armor Gunmetal – Coupon: G4NQOG3H
• Thin Fit Black – Coupon: AALT8PIF
• Rugged Armor Black – Coupon: OWQ8CMXZ
• Neo Hybrid Crystal Gunmetal – Coupon: 7X77HYRN
• Neo Hybrid Satin Silver – Coupon: L3YVFPSO
• Liquid Crystal Clear – Coupon: 4WLTCE66

You will need to use the corresponding coupon code for each case. As previously mentioned, this will only work on the Prime listing for each case, which is indicated as Sold by Spigen Inc and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Samsung Galaxy S7

• Galaxy S7 and S7 edge hands-on
• Galaxy S7 and S7 edge specs
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
• The SD card is back on the GS7
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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Samsung rumored to be in talks to acquire Jay Z’s Tidal music streaming service

The troubled music streaming service Tidal could have a buyer. A new, but unconfirmed, report claims Samsung is currently in talks to acquire Tidal, which was launched in October 2014 and bought in early 2015 by hip-hop artist Jay-Z.

The New York Post reports:

“Samsung is re-engaging; they are working on something really big, and they’re keeping it very quiet in case it leaks,” said a source close to the talks. A spokesperson for Samsung said: “It is our policy to not comment on rumors or speculation.”

The same report also claims that Google and Spotify have also been interested in Tidal, but for smaller partnerships rather than a full-fledged acquisition. Tidal, which was supposed to offer high-fidelity music that was owned by its artists, has not made much of a dent in the streaming audio space with just over a million subscribers since it launch over a year ago.

Source: New York Post

Google Store’s new VR section highlights Cardboard, View-Master and more

It looks like Google is ramping up its efforts to promote virtual reality with a new VR section on the Google Store. As you’d expect, the new section highlights VR viewers on sale at the Google Store, including Google Cardboard, Mattel’s View-master and the Google Tech C1-Glass VR Viewer.

In addition to featuring buy links to buy various Cardboard-based VR viewers, the new section also highlights what VR is, how the viewers interact with your smartphone and a brief look at the types of VR content that are on offer.

At the moment, the VR section isn’t included alongside the other shopping categories on the Google Store’s top menu bar. However, it is advertised with a big banner on the store’s home page. If you’d like to check out the new section, and maybe pick up a viewer or two, you can do so at the source link below.

Source: Google Store

Android 6.0 Marshmallow now rolling out to the Droid Turbo 2

Droid Turbo 2 owners are in for a sticky treat, as Verizon has announced that it has started rolling out the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the smartphone. As suggested by a recent soak test, the update looks to be composed of two parts, with the second bumping the Droid Turbo 2 up to software version 24.14.10 alongside the move to Marshmallow.

As for what you can expect with the update, all of Marshmallow’s goodies, including Doze mode and granular app permissions, are along for the ride. Verizon says that the update applies “the latest security patches” as well.

Since the update only just started rolling out, it may take some time to show for everyone. Still, if you’ve managed to snag the update already, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments and chime in on our forums.

Source: Verizon

Technics explains why its new SL-1200 turntable costs $4,000

Back at CES, Panasonic’s revived Technics brand pulled the wraps off of its new direct-drive SL-1200 turntable. While that announcement surely kicked up all sorts of feelings, the new gear comes with a steep price tag: $4,000. As many have noted, that’s a dramatic increase from what Technics’ turntables used to go for before the brand was discontinued. What Hi-Fi reports that new materials, including a new motor, and increased production costs are the reasons you’ll need to empty your savings account to nab one later this year.

“Because the original 1210 turntables were manufactured for so many years, the manufacturing process had got to a very low cost,” Technics CTO Tetsuya Itani told What Hi-Fi. “Now we need to invest in all the tools again, and the price now is much higher than the 1970s.”

Itani explained that all of the tools used during the manufacturing process were either gone or damaged, except for the dust cover’s die. In fact, that’s the only part of the new SL-1200G that isn’t new. The Technics CTO goes on to say that the upcoming model was designed and built “from scratch,” using a lot less plastic that the previous version with a newly designed cordless direct-drive motor. According to Itani, the changes put the new SL-1200 more on the level of the heavy-duty high-fi SP10 MK II performance-wise, a turntable that launched in the 1970s.

If the $4,000 (just under £3000) doesn’t deter you, you’ll have to wait until late 2016 to pick up the SL-1200G. There’s a special edition SL-1200GAE that’s slated for a June release, but there’s no word on specifics there just yet. Itani says Technics is considering a more affordable model, but admits the company “needs to study” before making any concrete plans.

Via: Fact Magazine

Source: What Hi-Fi