*Note* Orbe SE does not include tonearm or cartridge, tonearms and cartridges are available at an extra cost, talk to our turntable specialists about a tonearm & Cartridge to suit.*
The Michell Orbe SE delivers a reference-quality listen comparable to the Orbe, but in a smaller, more affordable package. By eliminating much of the expensive acrylic, the Michell Orbe SE offers most of the Orbe’s qualities in a cheaper, smaller, and to some people aesthetically more pleasing package. The Orbe SE can be upgraded to a full Orbe by purchasing the double plinth and dustcover.
When teamed with a T2 or T3 tonearm, the Orbe SE is a surprisingly affordable entry to the Orbe-class of performance.
Michell Orbe SE Key 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.
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.
Freestanding motor unit:
The motor unit used to drive the turntable is completely separate from the turntable, meaning it doesn’t touch the turntable in any way. 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.
Orbe record clamp:
The Orbe clamp is a screw-down design, which allows you to exert more force onto 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.
