We love our friends at U-Turn, as well as their customers. We have been taking care of both for many years.
The U-Turn is designed to accept 60Hz mains frequency in order to operate at the right speed. When folks relocate to 50Hz countries, they need our products to use the U-Turn. We provide exactly the high-precision frequency conversion that the U-Turn turntable requires, and that the discriminating audiophile expects.
For a long time, we offered the Model 1930-115V (now called Chronos) for this application. Chronos accepts any voltage from 85-264V AC at 47-63Hz, and outputs a regulated 115V AC at precisely 60Hz. U-Turn customers would plug their Orbit AC adapter into Chronos. It’s really great, and it works just fine. So, if you presently own a Model 1930-115V and are using it to power the U-Turn, you don’t need to worry. But, if you are considering a new product to power the U-Turn, we would recommend Apollo as our latest offering.
Apollo accepts any voltage from 85-264V AC at 47-63Hz, and outputs a regulated 24V AC at precisely 60Hz, which is exactly what the turntable needs. The Orbit AC adapter is not needed. Apollo comes complete with everything you need to power the U-Turn turntable including all connections and cables. It’s a simple plug-and-play. There are several advantages to Apollo:
- Apollo is smaller, lighter, and lower cost than the Model 1930-115V.
- Apollo eliminates the need for the U-Turn wall adapter, which eliminates a potential source of hum in some setups.
- Apollo includes a cable to connect its metal case to the ground of the audio system. Again, in some audio setups, this slightly reduces hum.
- Apollo has a slightly improved frequency stability compared to the Model 1930-115V.
Sonically, the majority of folks will never detect any difference between Apollo and the Model 1930-115V. But if you are a purist, you might consider Apollo.
The U-Turn external preamp product (Pluto) has its own wall adapter, which produces a different voltage than the wall adapter that powers the U-Turn turntable. That is why we recommend the Model 1930-115V (Chronos) to provide power to both AC adapters, when Pluto is present. But if you don’t have Pluto, then you don’t need to worry about that. If you have the Orbit with built-in preamp, Apollo is fine there, too.