I just tested this stunning turntable, and it's one of the best I've reviewed in years

There is no shortage of turntables at a mid-range price, somewhere between the $100 suitcase models you’ll find in your local Urban Outfitters and the $1,000 models that adorn the shelves of dedicated HiFi shops. U-Turn audio, from Woburn, Massachusetts, is just one manufacturer that produces a turntable at this price range, which also sits in the middle of its own model lineup.

This is the U-Turn Orbit Special, and it’s a belt drive manual turntable that gives you everything you need to get those records spinning at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

For the price, you get a very well-regarded cartridge, a super light, custom-tone arm, a colorful, attractive plinth, vibration-dampening feet, and an acrylic platter. But how does the U-Turn Orbit Special fare when all those things are screwed together, packed in a box, and sent to you to play your favorite vinyl?

Even further, does it rank as one of the best record players? Find out more in my Orbit Special review.

U-turn Orbit Special review: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A turntable that has features of far more expensive models
• Who is it for? Those looking for a forever turntable that won’t break the bank
• What does it cost? $549
• What we like: The great build, the excellent sound, and the simple, slick look
• What we don’t like: Make sure the lid is lifted all the way up — it has fallen on my fingers!

U-turn Orbit Special review: Price and Availability

First things first — if you live outside of the US, getting a hold of the Orbit Special is going to be much trickier and far more expensive than those who dwell within the states. The Special is born and raised in The Bay State, and while it can be shipped abroad (as mine was), you’ll end up paying far more and risk damage more than if you buy something from your home country. Similar turntables are available in the UK, the EU and Australia, but you’ll be looking at similarly priced models from the likes of Pro-Ject and Rega.

US residents aren’t going to have any such issue. The Special starts at $549, and then there are a couple of different options that can increase the price. If you want a built-in phono preamp, then you pay an extra $80, bringing the price up to $629.

In addition to the 5 standard colors, there are natural hardwood plinth options in the form of Oak and Walnut that increase the price by $120 dollars. If you opt for a natural hardwood plinth and a built-in preamp, then your Special will cost $749. The model I’ve got in test here is the blue model with the pre-amp, making them the $629 model.

U-turn Orbit Special review: Design and Build

• Simple and attractive
• MDF plinth
• Acrylic platter

There’s a specific kind of design that lots of modern manual turntables ascribe to, and the Special adheres pretty well to the format — albeit with some classy touches that bring some crucial personality. There’s a solid MDF plinth at the core of the turntable, which the platter and the tone arm sit on. It’s a simple, classy design, and U-Turn has done a great job of making it stand out from the competition.

The color selection is great, and if you get one of the hardwood options then you’ll get an element of class. Instead of a side-mounted switch, like you’ll find on Project or Rega turntables with a similar look, you get a top-mounted speed selector. The top left corner houses the motor's pulley, which runs the belt around the platter. The main spindle is a plastic one, but atop it sits one of the turntable's best upgrades over it’s less expensive line-mates.

The platter is made of acrylic, so there’s less resonance than you’ll find in a metal or MDF platter. That means few vibrations making their way to the stylus, and better sound quality overall. Remember — this is a solely analog affair, so material choices and how they’re manufactured actually matter. The other element that affects the sound, the tonearm, is a custom U-turn unit, made out of magnesium. The gimbal that moves it around is smooth and silent, and the cartridge on the business end is an Ortofon 2M Red, the performance of which we’ll get to later.

The counterweight that sits at the back end of the tonearm is harder to adjust and mostly fixed, which is both a blessing and a curse. It means that setup is super simple — just plug the turntable in, drop the needle, and get playing — but it does make it harder to dial in your tracking force if you decide to swap out the cartridge. For a plug-and-play system, it makes perfect sense, and the 1.7-ish gram tracking force is perfectly dialed in from the factory, but a little extra customizability would be nice.

The platter is perfectly formed, with no warping or manufacturing defects. It’s even grooved to make it easier to situate the belt, and harder for it to work its way out of place; a big boon if you’ve ever watched a belt work its way off the platter in use.

The whole package is very well put together, and the arm feels very premium. It certainly feels like a turntable that costs a whole lot more money; which actually makes some sense, when you realize that some of the features carry over to the more expensive Orbit Theory turntable. Vibration dampening is also good, thanks to the soft, isolated feet.

U-turn Orbit Special review: Features

• Belt drive
• Speed selector
• Optional built-in pre-amp

While the Special is lacking some 2025 features, like Bluetooth, it otherwise has everything you could want out of a turntable. The optional built-in preamp (that you can buy as a separate box for $20 more from U-Turn if you wish) is a great option, better than you’ll find with most built-in options from lower-priced, entry-level Audio-Technica options. It’s easy to use as well — just plug your cables in, and press the little switch on the back so that the light turns on. It means you can use the turntable with a pair of powered speakers, or with an amp that doesn’t have a built-in preamp.

I’d say it's worth ordering the Special with the preamp even if you have one built into your amp or speakers. It can be turned on and off, making it very flexible should you want to upgrade further down the line, or if you find yourself using the turntable with something that won’t amplify the signal.

The speed controller is a useful feature as well, avoiding the annoying ‘switch the belt on the pulley’ system that other similar turntables use. It works as a power switch as well, and clicks nicely into place. I vastly prefer this method of speed selection over the alternative, and U-Turns implementation is a very good one.

There’s vibration dampening galore as well, from the isolated feet on the bottom to the acrylic platter that dissipates unwanted vibrations super well. It all adds up to a very stable turntable — although you’ll still want to make sure your speakers aren’t on the same surface to really get rid of pesky, music-spoiling tremors.

U-turn Orbit Special review: Sound Quality

• Confident, revealing performance
• Tight and controlled
• Lacks a little energy

Just note first on the testing parameters of the Special. I played my vinyl on the turntable with both the built-in pre-amp, and my external iFi Zen Phono 3. It all goes through my Onkyo amplifier, which powers a set of KEF LS50 Meta and a separate subwoofer. I also tried it with the ORA4 from Kanto, using the RCA connector on the back and the turntable’s built-in pre-amp.

Now that that’s out of the way, I can talk you through the performance of the turntable — and here in the US, you’re not going to find much better for the price. Given the price increases on similarly specced British and European models, you’ll pay at least $200 more for the Rega Planar 2, or $50 for a similar Pro-Jeck Debut Carbon Evo. Make no mistake, those are both stunning turntables, but the Special more than gives them a run for their money.

There’s a delicacy in the high end of the Special, and a spaciousness to the sound. That’s in part thanks to the excellent Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, but it helps that the chassis it sits within is very solid indeed. You needn’t worry about any noisy components or vibrations during use either, thanks to the acrylic platter and soft feet.

The low end is tight and controlled as well, with bass notes clear and true. There’s only one thing I might wish from the Special, and that’s perhaps a little more energy — it lacks a sense of fun that the ProJect might offer, but you get a more solid high-end experience in return.

Spinning Behemoth's Wolves Ov Siberia reveals a punchy, effortless performance. There’s great depth to the distorted bass guitars, and clarity to Nergal’s growling. The guitar line sounds natural and massive, extending the already impressive soundstage. There’s some flatness to some of the bassline which robs a little energy, but that’s nitpicking — the turntable sounds excellent.

There’s detail galore in Bjork’s All Is Full Of Love, giving the vocal line an effervescent edge. It remains in control the entire time, but there’s still that slight flatness to some of the low end. If you want something from U-turn with more energy and drive, you’ll like want to step things up a few hundred bucks for the Orbit Theory, but this is still an incredible musical experience.

U-turn Orbit Special review: Verdict

There is no shortage of turntable options at this price point, from the excellent Pro-Ject and Rega options to all-in-one models from Fluance and Majority Audio. The Special joins the fray not unprepared however, and from my testing, I’d say it comes out the other side with some big notches in its belt.

From the great sound quality and stylish good looks, the Special is a delicious piece of HiFi kit that outperforms its lower price point to take on more expensive models. I’d suggest you get the model with the built-in preamp, given the added flexibility, but it’s otherwise excellent out of the box. As you grow you can easily upgrade the turntable as well. If the counterweight were easier to adjust, the perspex lid slightly more reliable, and the belt completely silent on startup, this would be a perfect 5-star.

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