Flagship Vinyl Playback System
The Orbe is Michell Engineering's flagship turntable, it builds upon all that was learnt from developing the GyroDec and takes it to the next level.
Capable of delivering a true audiophile listening experience, the Orbe has to be heard to be believed.
2 levels of isolation, a massive 60mm thick vibration damping platter and the most sophisticated power supply and motor configuration Michell have ever created, help raise the Orbe to levels of performance, orders of magnitude above its modest price point.
FEATURES
Low contact area feet: The solid aluminium feet of the turntable are shaped so the area in contact with the supporting surface is very small, this is done to minimise the transfer of vibrations from the supporting furniture into the turntable.
Dual high density acrylic bases: Separated by 3 pin points the acrylic bases of the Orbe not only provide a rigid non resonant surface to fix the suspension system to, they also create a very efficient isolation platform to help eliminate structural feedback.
Three point spring suspension system: Three suspension towers are fixed to the secondary acrylic base to hold the suspension springs in place and provide height adjustment for the sub chassis.
Weighted pendulum style sub chassis: Hanging on the three suspension springs, this provides a rigid dense platform to mount the main bearing, platter and tonearm assembly, ensuring there is no movement between them, while also acting as a ‘resonance / vibration sink’ drawing away unwanted vibrations from the sensitive elements of the turntable.
Inverted oil circulating main bearing: Contrary to traditional designs, our main bearing has the point of rotation at the top of the assembly, not at the bottom. This orientation allows us to fully lubricate the inside of the entire bearing while the platter is turning. We achieve this by way of a modified Archimedean screw that we machine into the inside bore of the bearing. The oil is drawn from a reservoir at the base of the main bearing up to the thrust ball at the top, fully lubricating as it goes, it then returns to the reservoir via a waste hole drilled into the bearing spindle. Lubricating the precision parts of the main bearing in this way means that any potential for noise or vibration created by the rotation of the platter is avoided.
Extra heavy Impedance-matched platter: The platter material was chosen for its vibration dampening characteristics and because sonically it is a very similar material to vinyl, so it has a very neutral sound characteristic. The extra mass of the Orbe platter gives it great momentum when spinning aiding in speed stability.
Free standing motor unit: The motor unit used to drive the turntable is completely separate to the turntable, meaning it doesn’t touch the turntable in anyway. The only connection between the motor and the turntable is the drive belt that drives the platter. This stops any noise or vibrations created when the motor is running, getting through to the sensitive parts of the turntable.
Orbe controller power supply: The most sophisticated power supply we manufacture, the Orbe controller uses a large toroidal transformer, Never Connected™ circuitry and servo motor control technology to make sure the platter is always turning at the correct speed. All the time the platter is turning, the motor is reporting back what the RPM is, if this changes even slightly, the controller automatically adjusts its output to correct the change. The result is that the speed stability of an Orbe turntable is absolutely rock solid.
Hinged lid: The turntable comes with a hinged clear acrylic lid to protect the turntable from dust and damage. The hinges are made in two parts that allow the lid to be easily removed if required.
Orbe record clamp: The Orbe clamp is a screw-down design, which allows you to exert more force on to the vinyl when clamping it to the platter, than our standard clamps allow. This further helps flatten warped and uneven vinyl and eliminate resonance in the vinyl disk.