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What to watch to celebrate Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary

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Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to La La Land was ignored by most moviegoers. And the few who did catch it were in for something weird: Instead of a jingoistic celebration of American ingenuity and macho astronauts, it was an exploration of loss. The film focuses heavily on the passing of Neil Armstrong’s (Ryan Gosling) young daughter, Karen, but also on the specter of death that haunted everyone being strapped onto a rocket. They weren’t even safe during routine safety checks — it brutally depicts the Apollo 1 command module fire, a freak accident that occurred during a simulated launch, killing the three astronauts aboard. And then there were the family issues: leaving your loved ones in a constant state of panic, and never being around enough to comfort them.

Still, even with death around the corner, First Man brilliantly depicts NASA’s ingenuity during the ’60s, armed with nothing more than math, some very basic computers, and cracker-jack piloting. We get to see Armstrong recover Gemini 8 after it starts rolling out of control. Later, during the Apollo 11 mission, we can feel the panic as he’s forced to manually land the lunar rover, after noticing issues with the initial landing site. We know how the story ends, of course. But the film depicts the personal costs for Armstrong better than anything we’ve seen before.

Where to watch: VOD, HBO, Blu-ray

Chasing the Moon

PBS’s three-part series is similar to Apollo 11, since it’s also relying on newly found footage. But it’s decidedly more intimate. We get to see the inside of Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman’s house, for example, where his wife seems to be dreading the entire ordeal. It’s guided by archived news footage, with some fresh interviews with the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. And at a lengthy six hours, it has plenty of time to dive into the context of things like what the Space Race actually means.

Where to watch: PBS

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

While astronauts were uniformly white men for decades, women were left to handle much of the computational that actually got them into space. And within that group, there were plenty women of color “computers” who never got their due in popular culture. Hidden Figures follows three notable black women — Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), who helped NASA calculate crucial flight trajectories; Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer); and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), NASA’s first African-American female engineer — as they fight to make their talents recognized. Even though NASA was still more progressive than most other employers by seeking out women of color, it also forced them to live through plenty of indignities, like being forced to walk long distances to use segregated bathrooms.

Where to watch: VOD, Blu-ray

Also check out:

  • The Martian (VOD and HBO): A pro-science look at what our future of Mars exploration could look like.
  • Missions to the Moon (National Geographic): A short and sweet documentary that boils down highlights of the Apollo missions.
  • The Right Stuff (VOD, Blu-ray): The classic macho astronaut film covering the first batch of Mercury 7 astronauts.

Images: NASA; Hidden Figures: Twentieth Century Fox

Apollo 11 anniversary at Engadget

NASA apollo 11 lander illustration

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Wizards Unite’ community day tomorrow

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Other community day perks include Foundables appearing more frequently, a free store pack featuring Spell Energy from the Diagon Alley shop and Dark Detectors that last twice as long. Those should help you save plenty of Muggles and ward off rogue magical creatures and misbehaving objects. Times of event vary by country, so be sure to check the schedule here, and as you play, Ninantic and WB Games hope you’ll share your progress using #WizardsUnite.

Community days were popular with Pokémon Go, and it’s not surprising that Ninantic would want to build a similar following around Wizards Unite. While Pokémon Go’s community days were monthly events, Ninantic and WB Games haven’t said how often they’ll host the Wizards Unite equivalent.



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Readers tell us why the OnePlus 6T has earned so many fans

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Camera

One of Richard’s favorite things about the 6T was its camera, which inherits most of its predecessor’s specs and delivers similarly impressive results. Richard said his daytime shots were sharp and that he was amazed by the clarity in his nighttime photos. Users were split on the camera, though. On the positive end of the spectrum, Yitz said that “in terms of reliability, the 6T stock camera always works and hasn’t lagged,” and that the iPhone, Pixel and Samsung cameras “do not have a significantly objective advantage.”

OnePlus 6T

However, Samuel had a different experience. After he switched from a Pixel 2XL, the “drop in camera quality was noticeable,” but picture quality improved dramatically after he installed the XDA Google Camera port. Noah was more forgiving, noting that while the camera did not hold up to the best available devices, “this camera is still better than any phone camera you had two or three years ago.”

Charging

Though multiple users mentioned the lack of wireless charging, none of them really seemed bothered by the omission. Yitz said they don’t own a wireless charger and besides, the “amazing battery life” eliminated their desire for this feature. Andrew and Al also praised the battery life, though Al wishes he had the option of wireless charging. Yitz chalks up the great battery life to the 3,700mAh cell onboard, optimized software, lower screen resolution and reduced background processing.

OnePlus 6T

Headphone jack and fingerprint scanner

Richard had two complaints about the 6T’s hardware: the lack of a headphone jack and the sluggish fingerprint scanner (particularly in very bright or dark situations). Readers were far less bothered by the lack of the 3.5mm port, with Kealan saying “the headphone jack is gone, so what? Just about everything’s Bluetooth now.” Likewise, Yitz didn’t take issue with it, saying they “leave the adapter that came with the phone on my headphones” to quickly connect.

Samuel agrees with Richard that the fingerprint reader is “hit or miss depending on whether your fingers are dry or the screen is clean.” He uses face authentication in tandem with the fingerprint sensor to unlock faster. However, Yitz found the 6T’s in-display scanner “significantly faster than the Samsung S10,” and felt it unlocked faster than some iPhones.

OnePlus 6T

Software

The 6T’s Android Pie-based OxygenOS ran smoothly for Richard, and for pretty much most readers who submitted reviews. The users who mentioned software reported positive things, with Andrew saying the gesture system is easy to use. Yitz praised the “clean and smooth UI with customizable and useful features and (its lack of) bloatware or 3rd party apps.” Both Yitz and Samuel applauded the update schedule for the phone, with Samuel highlighting “the speed of the OnePlus’s OS updates.”

Cellular service

On T-Mobile, the 6T showed solid and consistent service. Yitz said that both coverage and data speeds were great, but considered the handset’s incompatibility with Sprint a con. Samuel agreed that call quality was excellent, though he acknowledged that this might be more dependent on T-Mobile than on OnePlus.

OnePlus 6T

Comparisons

Though this was OnePlus’ first foray into the US market, it earned several fans among our readers, like Kealan, who “deferred from the Galaxy to the OnePlus and honestly I don’t see myself going back.” Despite his misgivings about the camera, Samuel said the OnePlus 6T “certainly rivals the performance of a Google Pixel 2XL, with more processing power, more RAM, and a smoother, snappier user experience.” Noah also felt the 6T was a “definite upgrade” from their Droid Turbo 2 and advocated others switch “because of all the features, customization options and speed.”

Only a few users had anything negative to say about the 6T. Samuel’s “only gripes are the fingerprint reader and the camera,” while Al missed both SD storage and wireless charging. Tyson was disappointed that the smartphone “feels obsolete and out of the loop” already, with the recent release of the 7T Pro. But Samuel also appreciated the 6T’s near-stock Android experience, powerful speed and low price. And Tyson said he was “constantly finding new things that I like about the phone and discovering things I didn’t know I could do.” Noah feels that “for the price you pay, you get phenomenal quality all around” and Kealan declared the 6T to be “honestly the best phone I’ve had. What’s not to love?”

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How NASA keeps its astronauts safe and sane in space

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As such, NASA has spent decades working to ensure that, when it sends crews beyond the atmosphere, they’ll possess the talent and training required to do their duties and return safely. As we look towards Mars — and its two-plus year round trip — NASA faces an unprecedented challenge in doing so.

Even on relatively short stints aboard the ISS, astronauts face a number of challenges and contributing factors that can wear on them physically and emotionally. Those include potential personality and cultural conflicts or communication issues with foreign crewmates, the monotony and boredom of performing daily maintenance on the station, physiological changes due to microgravity and isolation, worries of radiation exposure and disruptions to their circadian rhythms. Astronauts on the ISS are essentially stuck in a little bubble of habitable atmosphere with only five other people for six months at a time or more. That’s enough to make all but the most psychologically sturdy go a bit stir crazy.

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Per NASA’s research, US astronauts suffered 1,800 in-flight medical events over the course of 89 shuttle missions between 1981 and 1998. Fewer than 2 percent of those were due to behavioral health issues and among those, the most common complaint was “anxiety and annoyance.” Conversely, Space Adaptation Syndrome — wherein astronauts suffer from motion sickness, headaches, and facial stiffness until they grow accustomed to life in microgravity — accounted for 40 percent of medical issues over the same span.

That’s not to say astronauts don’t go a little crazy from time to time. The Soyuz 21 mission in 1976 had to be abandoned when the cosmonaut crew all noticed a strong odor in the capsule. The source of the smell was never found and the entire incident was chalked up to a shared, stress-induced delusion among the crew. In 1989, shuttle commander David Walker, recently returned from his first mission and in the midst of a bitter divorce, piloted a T-38 jet within 100 feet of a Pan American commercial flight. While NASA never officially cited post-mission stress as a contributing factor to the near disaster, the agency did remove Walker from command and grounded him from missions until 1992.

More recently, in 2007 astronaut Lisa Nowak drove non-stop 900 miles across the country, armed with an adult diaper, bb gun, mallet and knife to confront a romantic rival at the Orlando airport. After failing to pepper spray her rival, Nowak was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Her legal team pursued an insanity defense following a diagnosis that Nowak suffered from a brief psychotic disorder and major depression after returning from her recent Discovery mission.

“Anecdotal and empirical evidence indicate that the likelihood of an adverse cognitive or behavioral condition or psychiatric disorder occurring greatly increases with the length of a mission,” NASA’s Human Research Program found during a subsequent study on astronaut psychological health. “Further, while cognitive, behavioral, or psychiatric conditions might not immediately and directly threaten mission success, such conditions can, and do, adversely impact individual and crew health, welfare, and performance.”

NASA’s first line of defense against this happening is its brutal astronaut selection process. Many candidates come from high-pressure fields such as fighter pilots and physicians, inherently dangerous, high-stakes professions where a wrong move can prove fatal. The ability to quash fear and anxiety to overcome a challenge is of paramount importance. Astronauts “already know [they] can meet stressful challenges,” NASA senior operational psychologist Dr. Jim Picano told Astronaut in January, “and [they] believe [they] can overcome these things.”

A rigorous training regimen helps iron out any remaining doubts the candidates may have. “The training that astronauts receive shapes their confidence in the procedures and equipment they have, to deal with spaceflight commands as well as emergencies,” he continued. “Rehearsing these over and over again…brings a sense of preparation that allows them to believe they can influence and change their circumstances for the better.”

Of course, confidence can only get one so far in the selection process. Out of the 18,000-odd applicants, only a pool of 60 or so will eventually be eligible to go to space. NASA rates each of these applicants on nine separate “suitability proficiencies“

  • The ability to perform under stressful conditions

  • Group living skills

  • Teamwork skills

  • Self-regulation of emotions and mood

  • Motivation

  • Judgement and decision making

  • Conscientiousness

  • Communication skills

  • Leadership skills

And that’s just the start. Candidates are subjected to hours of psychiatric screening during the selection process to ensure that they have “the right stuff” for a given mission. Once selected, astronauts must then go through multiple additional batteries of psychological evaluation and support during the run up to launch, while on mission, and after they return. While aboard the ISS, crews participate in psychological conferences with ground-based medical staff, for example.

Additionally, NASA takes great pains to keep astronauts aboard the ISS in contact with their friends, families, and the public to help counter the enormous psychological stresses they experience. NASA provides its ISS astronauts access to social media accounts, satellite phones and video conferences for communicating with family, media downloads for keeping up with the latest TV seasons, and regular care packages from Earth. Astronauts are also encouraged to take up hobbies while aboard the space station; be it photography, reading or in Commander Chris Hadfield’s case, recording a guitar album in microgravity.

NASA is also looking into less invasive ways of monitoring its astronauts’ mental health while in space. “Researchers funded by NASA have been experimenting with visual recognition technology,” Dr. Lawrence Palinkas, professor of Social Policy and Health at the University of Southern California, told Engadget. The same sort of technology that law enforcement agencies are using to track and identify people could eventually be used to subtly keep tabs on a crewmate’s psychological state. “If aberrations or abnormalities are detected, a psychologist is armed with more detailed information on how to respond adequately,” he said.

Still, Mars is 35 million miles from the Earth, even at their closest orbital points. Getting there and back will take a minimum of two and a half years. “Mars is a long way away, and the extreme distance has psychological ramifications,” Dr. Nick Kanas, emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, told the American Psychological Association in 2018. “It will be hard to have the kind of social novelty we crave.” Given the scope of the mission, multiple nations’ respective space agencies will be involved and likely sending astronauts of their own.

Dr. Phyllis Johnson, associate professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia, has recently performed research into the effects that these sorts of dangerous and remote jobs have on family members left behind. “We’re looking at how [astronauts] create, or do they create, a shared space culture,” she told Engadget. “Or are they going to be separate entities of ‘I’m my national culture. So I’m an American there first, and I’m a Canadian, and I’m a German, or I’m from a particular space agency.'”

“Are they developing something that encompasses all of it,” she continued, “and do they see it as recreating some traditions — customs that we’re doing as a team — that are carried forward by other groups.”

That community will be vital given that the further they travel from Earth, the longer the communications lag grows. By the time the time they make it to Mars, signals from Earth will need a full 20 minutes to get there. Combined with an equally long trip back and the time needed to compose a reply, astronauts will be looking at a 40 minute lag at the very least. That will make telephone-style conversations impossible.

“Undoubtedly protocols that will have to be established for how that form of communication takes place,” Palinkas said, “and how questions and answers are bundled together to minimize disruption to the normal flow of conversation.”

NASA isn’t planning on sending a crew to the Red Planet for nearly another decade, not when there’s so much Moon to explore and potentially exploit. This should give the space agency sufficient time to further mature the technologies and flight systems needed to keep its astronauts alive, and more importantly, thriving, during their perilous journey.

Apollo 11 anniversary at Engadget

NASA apollo 11 lander illustration

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Twitter will help explain missing tweets in conversations

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You can expect the change to take effect within a “few weeks.”

The move is ultimately an extension of Twitter’s process for adding context to individually deleted tweets, and achieves the same goals. This helps inexperienced users understand why a tweet might vanish, and helps defend the company. It can indicate that a user was responsible for removing a tweet instead of weathering accusations that it pulled the post itself.



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The best turntable

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Why you should trust us

I’ve reviewed audio gear for almost a decade and listened to turntables since the late 1990s. I try to ground all of my conclusions in objective and subjective data from testing as well as the experience gained during the hundreds of hours a year I spend evaluating and comparing audio products.

Who should get this

These entry-level and mid-level turntables are for the person who is getting into vinyl playback for the first time or has been out of it for a while and wants a simple solution for playing their record collection. For this person, we think simplicity and ease-of-use are just as important as overall sound quality. If you’re new to turntables, you might want to read the Terminology section below to learn about some of the basic parts and functions we’ll be discussing here.

If you want to experience the absolute best in vinyl sound quality, you’ll want a separate phono preamp that offers features like variable loading and adjustable resistance so that it will work with a full range of cartridges. You also might want a turntable that lets you replace the tonearm, so you can experiment with different lengths and materials to find the option that sounds the best to you. Turntables that are suited for this type of user cost far more than the models we considered for this guide.

There are plenty of used turntables out there that are great, but those can take some work and care to optimize their playback. If you’re a vinyl veteran, that might be for you, but a second-hand turntable is probably not for the first-time turntable owner.

If you already have a turntable that works for you, you probably don’t need to upgrade to a new model from this guide. You can probably get more out of your current system by upgrading the cartridge or getting a new phono preamp than you can from buying a whole new turntable.

How we picked and tested

Turntable

Photo: Chris Heinonen

The turntable market continues to grow, and there’s no shortage of options—crowdfunded turntables like those from U-Turn compete with models from more established brands like Denon that predate World War I. For this update, we used the following criteria to help us decide which turntables were best suited to our target audience:

  • Good sound quality: There is far more variation in sound quality between turntables than there is between digital music players. Some have better bass with more detail and separation, and some do better with vocals. Some turntables are more speed-accurate than others. Records will have occasional pops, and some turntables suppress these better than others.
  • Easy to set up: Models that require you to mount a cartridge, that need a separate stylus gauge, or that require advanced alignment of the cartridge can be hard for a vinyl novice to set up well. The ability to easily upgrade the cartridge to improve sound quality is also a valuable feature.
  • Included phono preamp: This is a big plus if you’re looking for an uncomplicated audio system, although we don’t consider it mandatory. The signal from a phono cartridge must be amplified and equalized to be compatible with normal stereo systems or powered speakers. Some entry-level stereo receivers lack phono preamp sections, and soundbars and wireless speakers never had them, so a built-in preamp makes it easier to add the turntable to your existing system without having to purchase any additional equipment.
  • Easy to use: Convenience features, like easy switching between speeds and a tonearm that automatically returns, become more important the longer you own a turntable. If you aren’t listening to your 45 rpm records because changing the speed on the turntable is a pain, or if you have to worry that you’ll forget to stop the player and cause extra wear on the needle, you aren’t getting enjoyment from it.
  • Drive method: We considered belt-drive and direct-drive models for this guide and didn’t care which method a turntable used. Many enthusiasts are convinced of the superiority of one or the other. The common belief is that the direct-drive method is more speed-accurate because it drives the platter directly, while the belt-drive method better isolates records and cartridges from motor noise and vibration. We found that, in this price range, neither method had a clear advantage. The direct-drive models were usually more speed-accurate but sometimes had more wow and flutter distortion than the belt-drive models. Most higher-end turntables use belt drive; perhaps at those prices, they can improve the speed accuracy to the point where the belt drive is clearly superior.

Using this criteria as my guide, I spent more than a dozen hours researching every turntable under $500 that I could find. I tracked down bench tests from the few sites that do objective testing, and I spent a lot of time using Google Translate to get reviews from Germany and other countries where turntables remain even more popular than in the US.

After all of that research, I selected nine new or updated turntables to bring in to compare with our previous top pick, the Audio-Technica LP120. For models without an integrated phono preamp, I used the Emotiva XPS-1. If a model had an integrated phono preamp, I typically used that because we figure most of you will, too.

I listened to all of the turntables in my dedicated home theater room that measures 11 by 13 by 8 feet. For direct comparison, I played identical copies of an album on multiple turntables using a line-level audio switcher. Due to the different output levels of each included cartridge, I had to adjust the level each time I switched turntables, which meant I couldn’t do a blind test. Speed measurements, along with wow and flutter tests, were performed using the Platter Speed app from Feickert Labs.

Our pick: Denon DP-400

Turntable

Photo: Rozette Rago

Of all the turntables we tested, the Denon DP-400 offered the best combination of sound quality, ease of use, and convenient features—including a built-in phono preamp, a speed control dial, a cue lever, and automatic platter stopping with tonearm lift. Plus, it’s easy to upgrade the cartridge to get even better performance.

The DP-400’s sound quality is very good. Background noise ranged from very quiet to almost inaudible, and this model did a good job suppressing pops and other issues in records that some turntables had problems with.

Turntable

The counterweight has adjustment markings to help you balance the DP-400’s tonearm. Photo: Rozette Rago

As much as I enjoy listening to vinyl, hearing fewer pops and crackles is always a good thing. Some of the other turntables offered slightly better bass detail, but that was due to the cartridge that came preinstalled. When I replaced the Denon DP-400’s stock cartridge with an Ortofon Red or Blue, it sounded as good as or better than any of the other turntables we tested.

Turntable

The speed-selection switch makes it easy to choose 33, 45, or even 78 rpm without having to lift up the platter. Photo: Rozette Rago

Measuring the performance using the Platter Speed app, I found the belt-drive Denon DP-400 to be the most speed-accurate of all the turntables we tested at both 33 rpm and 45 rpm speeds. In tests, it had a bit more wow and flutter than some competitors, but that’s not something that I heard when listening.

Turntable

The DP-400 comes with a cue lever to easily raise and lower the tonearm. Photo: Rozette Rago

Aside from the fully automatic turntables we tested, the Denon DP-400 was the easiest to use. Balancing the tonearm is simple, and speed selection is done with a dial, so playing back 33, 45, or even 78 rpm records doesn’t require lifting up the platter (as you must on some of the other turntables we tested). The included auto-stop function stops your record when you get to the end of a side and lifts up the turntable arm. This saves wear and tear on your stylus needle, which might only be rated for 300 to 400 hours of use, and lets you enjoy playing a record while you do other things without worrying that you aren’t there to stop it.

Turntable

The Denon’s cover does double-duty as a record presentation stand. Photo: Rozette Rago

The integrated phono preamp performed well and is easy to disable if you’d prefer to use an external phono preamp. Unlike some of the other turntables we looked at, the Denon uses standard RCA phono jacks instead of an integrated cable, so you can select a cable of the appropriate length. Using an external phono preamp worked well, and this turntable includes a grounding wire connection that some others lacked to help eliminate any ground hum that could occur.

The DP-400 is also an attractive turntable. Finished in a gloss black, it lacks the cheaper, plastic feel of some other models, and it includes a stylish cover that does double-duty as a record presentation stand.

Turntable

The Denon uses standard RCA phono jacks instead of an integrated cable, so you can select a cable of the appropriate length. Photo: Rozette Rago

It’s easy to upgrade the DP-400 to a higher-quality cartridge down the road. With some of the turntables we tested, you are limited to using the company’s own cartridges. Others lack a counterweight that you can adjust to account for a new cartridge. The Denon accepts a standard SH-4 headshell, so it’s simple to install a pre-mounted Ortofon Red or Blue cartridge with no tiny screws. I upgraded to an Ortofon Blue, and the resulting sound was so good that I see no reason to ever upgrade past that.

If you want to digitize your record collection to save to a computer or hard drive, Denon offers the DP-450USB, which is otherwise identical to the DP-400 but adds a USB output for an additional $100. This is an easy way to make digital copies of your favorite albums but not as easy as just streaming those titles from a music service (although the sound quality may not be the same and certain records might not be available to stream).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The DP-400’s turntable cover drew mixed reactions: While we liked the look, we missed the ability to put the cover down while listening to a record to keep dust out.

Budget pick: U-Turn Orbit Basic

Turntable

Photo: Rozette Rago

If you just want to dip your toes into vinyl playback or you don’t want to spend very much on a turntable you might not use often, the U-Turn Orbit Basic is a great option. Even if you’ve never used a turntable before, the Orbit Basic is so easy to set up that you can be listening to records in under 10 minutes. This turntable lacks many of the features that you get with the Denon DP-400, such as a cue lever, easy speed switching, and auto-stop. Still, with good sound quality and lots of customization options (including the ability to order it with a built-in phono preamp for an extra $70), the Orbit Basic is a great way to get started in vinyl.

We listened to a standard unit with the built-in phono preamp, and the sound quality was very good. It sounded much better than the other similarly priced turntables we tested, with better noise rejection and a wider stereo image. Switching between 33 rpm and 45 rpm records does require moving a belt, but that process was easier with this turntable than it is with models that hide the belt underneath the platter. When I first installed the platter and belt, they weren’t aligned well, and the platter was wobbly as a result. But installing it again fixed the issue, and the wobbling never happened after that.

Turntable

The Orbit Basic uses a belt-drive motor. You need to manually adjust the belt to switch between speeds. Photo: Rozette Rago

U-Turn makes it easy to customize your turntable. In addition to adding the built-in phono preamp, you can upgrade the cartridge, customize the color of the plinth (or upgrade to a wood veneer), replace the standard MDF platter with a more solid acrylic one, and add a cue lever to easily raise and lower the tonearm. Adding on the phono preamp and changing the plinth color must be done when ordered, but the other upgrades can be done later.

Turntable

If you order the Orbit Basic with the optional built-in phono preamp, the connection panel includes standard RCA phono jacks. Photo: Rozette Rago

However, with the Orbit Basic, it isn’t quite as easy to make certain upgrades as it is with the Denon DP-400. The counterweight of the tonearm lacks the easy adjustment markings that the Denon has, so adding a new cartridge would require a scale and a lot of trial and error. If you don’t plan to go down the turntable-upgrade rabbit hole, this won’t matter to you.

Turntable

The Orbit Basic comes with a standard-looking dust cover. Photo: Rozette Rago

If you’ve read previous versions of this guide, you might remember that we tested U-Turn turntables back in 2015 when the company first launched and we had lots of issues with the speed accuracy, even after testing four different models and replacement motors. In the four years since then, U-Turn has moved to a new production space, and we have not seen complaints about speed accuracy in professional reviews, Amazon reviews, or user reviews on Reddit and other sources. We tested the Orbit Basic and the Orbit Special for this update, and the speed accuracy was good on both (with 0.10 to 0.13 percent error, while some other tables measured three times worse than that), so we believe the prior issues were related to early production problems and have been ironed out. We will keep an eye on this, but we feel the current track record indicates good reliability.

What to look forward to

We scoped out the latest turntable models at the CES 2019 trade show back in January, and here’s what we found most exciting:

Audio Technica revamped its whole line with updated versions of the LP60 and LP120 that feature updated motors but keep the prices the same. The company also introduced two new models, the $300 LPW40WN and the $250 LPW30TK. Both feature MDF platters with wood veneers and are belt-driven instead of direct-driven, with the 40-series model offering an improved motor, upgraded cartridge, and carbon fiber tonearm. We will look to test the updated models and the new 40-series model once they are available.

Technics introduced the new SL-1200 MK7, which builds on the company’s popular 1200 turntable line. Gizmodo reports that the MK7 will add even more DJ-friendly features, such as a coreless direct-drive motor intended to prevent the cogging effect common in slow rotation motors, the ability to play in reverse, and adjustable torque options. Price and release date are still unknown, but we’ll update this guide when we learn more.

Technics also showed the new SL-1500C turntable with an integrated phono preamp. It’s a direct-drive model like the company’s 1200 series but removes the DJ features and includes an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. It has an expected release date in mid-2019, but the estimated price of $1,400 means we are unlikely to test it.

Sony introduced the new LX310BT turntable that includes Bluetooth output, USB output, and an integrated phono stage with adjustable gain. It should be available this spring for $200.

Pro-ject showed off new models to replace its Xpression and Xperience lines at the Bristol Hi-Fi show in 2019. The new models range from £230 to £1,200 and come out later this year, but more details aren’t fully known yet.

Terminology

Before you buy or use a new turntable, it helps to be familiar with the jargon. We explain some key terms below.

Turntable

1. Tonearm: The tonearm holds the cartridge as it moves across the record. Typically a tonearm is straight, but some are S-shaped. The ideal tonearm has no mass, is perfectly rigid, and has a bearing with no friction. Because that isn’t possible, you want a tonearm that’s as light and rigid as you can get. If the tonearm is flimsy and resonates, that resonance will make it into the music. Carbon fiber and other composites are light and stiff, while cheaper metals like aluminum are light but have much more resonance.

2. Cartridge: The cartridge and its stylus are what physically play the record. The stylus moves up and down, left and right, producing a waveform for both stereo channels. There are many types of cartridges, but almost all entry-level turntables will use moving magnet (MM) designs.

3. Platter: Also called a plinth, this is what the record sits on. The platter is rotated by either a direct-drive or belt-drive system (see below). The platter should be as dense as possible to reduce rumble and other mechanical noises that will otherwise make it into the music.

4. Drive method: The platter is either belt-driven or direct-driven. In a belt-drive turntable like the one in our photo example, an elastic belt connects the motor to the platter. The belt’s elasticity helps isolate the record and stylus from the motor’s vibration and can help reduce wow and flutter, which are speed fluctuations. On higher-end tables, you even see the motor totally isolated from the chassis, which in theory should remove any chance of motor rumble coming through the stylus. Direct-drive turntables have the motor directly connected to the platter. This will pass along far more motor noise, although the effect can be reduced through the use of various platter substances and construction techniques. The benefit of direct drive is that the platter gets up to speed faster and the direct connection provides far more torque, which is why you’ll find direct drive in DJ turntables that require speedier response.

5. Tracking force: Cartridges are designed to apply a specific amount of force to a record, specified in grams. Apply too little, and the cartridge and arm will bounce around, skipping constantly. Apply too much, and you’ll cause excessive wear of the stylus and the record itself. This is adjusted at the end of the tonearm opposite the cartridge.

Phono stage/phono preamp: The signal from a turntable is far less powerful than the signal from a CD player or other typical audio source. It also requires an equalization function, called the RIAA curve, to achieve a correct balance of bass to treble. A phono stage (or phono preamp) will boost the signal and apply the RIAA curve. Some receivers and integrated amps have built-in phono stages, with an input labeled “Phono” and usually with a ground screw for the turntable’s ground cable. If neither your stereo system nor your turntable incorporates a phono preamp, you’ll need to buy an external one.

Turntable

If your receiver doesn’t have an input specifically labeled “Phono,” it likely won’t accept the low-level signal from a turntable, unless that turntable has a built-in phono preamp. Photo: Chris Heinonen

Azimuth adjustment: The stylus on the cartridge should be directly perpendicular to the record itself. The azimuth adjustment lets you rotate the tonearm slightly in each direction to make sure it is correct.

Vertical tracking angle: The body of the cartridge and tip of the stylus should be directly parallel to the record surface while playing. Because records are different thicknesses and cartridges have slightly different sizes, many tonearms offer a way to adjust this.

Care and maintenance

Setting up your turntable correctly is key to getting the best performance out of it. There are many online guides available, including a nice step-by-step one put together by Brent Butterworth for Sound & Vision. There are also lots of video guides on YouTube; some are for specific models that you might buy.

An easy way to improve the quality of your turntable’s sound is by upgrading the cartridge. The Ortofon 2M line is very popular, and the best-sounding turntables we’ve heard use the Red or Blue cartridges. A pre-mounted version is easy to install on our main pick in under 10 minutes, and it made noticeable improvements in bass definition and quality.

Keeping your records in good shape is important. No matter what you spend on a turntable, it sounds only as good as the record does. All the turntable experts I’ve talked to agree that, when buying your turntable, you should also buy a Spin-Clean. For $80, there’s no more cost-effective way to clean vinyl. It requires a bit more manual labor than a vacuum-based record cleaning machine does, but it costs hundreds of dollars less.

Most turntables ship with the cartridge installed and aligned (and include a tool to align it if it is off). If you choose to replace the cartridge, you’ll need to align it again. This can be done with a tool like the Mobile Fidelity Geo-Disc or a free protractor you can download and print yourself.

The competition

We tested the following turntables for this update:

The U-Turn Orbit Special offers very attractive wood finishes and comes with an Ortofon Red cartridge, an upgraded platter, and a cue lever. It produced some of the best sound in our testing, but it isn’t as easy to use as the Denon DP-400, and the sound-quality differences were very small. Still, the Premium is the best-looking and one of the best-sounding turntables we tested.

The Audio-Technica LP120 was our pick for many years, but it is much larger than our new picks, has many features that you don’t need in non-DJ use, and didn’t sound as good as our new choices.

The Audio-Technica LP3 is fully automatic with start and stop buttons, but it was one of the least accurate turntables we tested. Also, some reviews indicate possible issues with the motor over long-term use, causing the speed to become unreliable.

The Fluance RT82 and RT85 turntables are easy to set up, feel well built, and include nice features like a bubble level and easy adjustable feet that other companies should emulate. But they had a loud background hum no matter what we tried; other turntables using the same preamp had much lower levels of background noise. The RT85 with an Ortofon Blue cartridge offered the best bass retrieval and definition in our test.

The Rega Planar P1 is easy to set up, and we like the sound, but it isn’t as easy to use as other models, with the speed-change belt located under the platter. It also ran about 1 percent fast when we measured it, while our picks were 0.04 to 0.10 percent off.

For previous revisions of this guide, we also tested the following turntables:

The Crosley C200 feels like a very lightweight, cheaper version of the Audio-Technica LP120. It lacks a few of the features of the Audio-Technica, including USB output, and its cartridge isn’t as good.

The Crosley C10 sounds and looks good, but in our opinion it’s priced too high compared to the Pro-ject Debut Carbon that has a better tonearm and cartridge.

The Music Hall MMF-2.2 bears a lot of similarities to the Pro-ject Carbon. In fact, they come from the same factory. But the MMF-2.2 comes with what most feel is an inferior tonearm and cartridge.

In previous versions of this guide, our upgrade picks were the Pro-ject Debut Carbon and Debut Carbon DC. These turntables sound good, but the Denon is much easier to set up, as is the Rega Planar P1, and both sound just as good.

The Pro-ject Primary sounds good for its price, and the speed change is easy to do, but it has the second-worst wow and flutter measurement in our testing and no phono preamp.

The Pro-ject Elemental line is the company’s most affordable, but online reviews show a large number of complaints about the speed accuracy, so we left it out of our testing.

The Pro-ject Essential II falls in between the Primary and the Carbon. It has a more flexible tonearm than the Primary while using the same cartridge, but it doesn’t offer the carbon fiber arm or Ortofon Red cartridge of the Carbon. It also has the annoying counterweight that the Primary does not, so we decided to test the Primary instead.

Pro-ject also makes the RM series, which includes the RM-1.3 that reviewers loved when it was released back in 2010. But nowadays it lacks the value that the Carbon provides and is more finicky to use.

Sony’s PS-HX500 turntable is the only turntable we know of that can record your records to a PC as DSD, Sony’s preferred high-resolution audio format. Unfortunately, it had the worst speed accuracy of any turntable we tested despite its high price, playing 33 rpm records almost 2 percent too fast and 45 rpm records 1.5 percent too fast. Although some of the other turntables were around 0.5 percent fast, that small inaccuracy wasn’t noticeable to us. The 2 percent on the Sony was pretty easy to hear.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions.

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Children of the Light’ is finally available on iOS

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Sky sends players on an adventure through seven, stylized regions to solve a mystery while making positive connections to the community. In addition to solving problems, you might compose music or gift candles to other players. In a blog post, Thatgamecompany founder Jenova Chen once wrote that Sky is “a game specially created to be played, and shared, among loved ones and family.” While Sky is an Apple-first title, Thatgamecompany says you will be able to play it on Android, eventually.



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Lyft adds NYC subway directions to its app

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The company’s Lilly Shoup told Bloomberg this was about fulfilling Lyft’s goal of offering the “world’s best transportation,” but it’s ultimately about keeping users within its ecosystem. If you only need one app for every aspect of your commute, you’re less like to drift to competitors. Uber has public transportation options in its app, and there’s a real possibility that a customer who switches to Uber for mass transit directions could be lost for good.

It’s certainly odd timing for Lyft. Although it does own Citi Bike, the company has lately been at odds with NYC over a myriad of issues, including the minimum wage for drivers and the ride-hailing vehicle cap. This shows that Lyft is still highly dependent on the city and determined to win over its residents, even if officials are concerned about its potential harm.

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NASA’s plan to return to the moon with Project Artemis

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The mission

While Artemis’s 2024 deadline is controversial (more on that later), NASA has long been planning to return to the Moon. There are a few reasons for this: First, there’s science and exploration. And second, we need to learn how to operate in space outside of Earth orbit. The Moon provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.

“The tl;dr is that there is definitely a scientific case for going back to the Moon,” explained Emily Lakdawalla, planetary scientist and Senior Editor at The Planetary Society. “We would go to the Moon for the same reasons that we explored in the first place. The Moon was formed out of Earth, it’s related to Earth in its origin, and it’s experienced everything in space that Earth has, except because it hasn’t been geologically active in a long time, it’s preserved the evidence for the environment in which the Earth formed in the first place and all of the asteroid impacts and other things that it experienced.” We also know more about the Moon than we did fifty years ago, and we can retrieve samples more strategically than we did during the Apollo era.

But it’s more than just that, Lakdawalla explained to Engadget. We now know the Moon holds volatiles, such as water, that are likely concentrated at its poles. These are interesting from a scientific standpoint, but they are also vital for exploration and potential habitation. “One very popular imagination for a way to have a permanent habitation on the Moon is if you set up an outpost on polar crater rim, which experiences sunlight almost all the time, and then you can do your resource extraction activity in a permanently shadowed crater, where there are these light elements — water and other stuff — that are in the dark all the time, and that’s how it preserves the volatiles. And so that’s another place that’s interesting both scientifically and for exploration,” concluded Lakdawalla.

To become a multi-planetary species, which is arguably necessary for reasons ranging from climate change to population growth to natural resources, we need to learn to live on other worlds. And that starts with learning to live on the Moon.

So how do we get there? This is the real issue, and one that NASA has been working on for years.

There are four pieces of technology that have to come together to make the (second) first Moon landing by 2024. The first is the Orion spacecraft, which will carry the astronauts to and from the Moon. The second is what’s called the Lunar Gateway, a small spaceship that Orion will dock with. It will function as a sort of space station in permanent orbit around the Moon. Unlike the ISS, though, it will not be permanently occupied; although, it will have astronaut quarters and serve as a base for lunar exploration. Third, there will be a lander to transport astronauts from the Gateway to the lunar surface and back. And finally, you need the rocket that will take Orion from the Earth’s surface to the Gateway, which is NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).

It’s worth noting that none of these pieces are yet operational. NASA is currently contracting out building the lander and the Gateway.

Orion is progressing steadily; NASA recently conducted a successful abort test of the spacecraft. “The next milestone is Artemis 1, which should be in 2020,” explained Nujoud Merancy. “It is also the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket, so that will be the uncrewed test flight of SLS and Orion and all the ground systems and MCC support systems that go with it. That exploration mission, Artemis 1, will be from 26 to 42 days, depending on the time of year.”

This mission will test the integration of SLS, the Orion crew vehicle and service module and the ground systems to support the entire endeavor, which is quite an undertaking. “It’s a massive test flight,” said Mary Lynne Dittmar. “That’s the biggest rocket that’s been launched globally since the Saturn V. And to get that and Orion’s systems together, integrate them, and do that shakedown cruise, which is really what that is, that needs to happen first because you’ve got to assure yourselves that the systems will operate.” This first uncrewed test flight is currently targeted for late 2020. Given the delays in development for SLS (which have been massive), it’s very possible that will slip to early 2021.

This also assumes that SLS will be the rocket used for the Moon missions. While this is indeed the current plan, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has admitted that, given the cost overruns and schedule, they may look into flying Artemis 1 (originally called EM-1) on a commercial rocket to keep it on schedule.

After that would come Artemis 2, which would be the first crewed test flight of both SLS and Orion. According to Dittmar, that needs to happen “by 2022 or early 2023” for a 2024 lunar landing mission to be feasible.

“The timeline is very aggressive. I think it’s doable, but it all depends on getting started very quickly.”

But there’s more than just Orion and SLS to worry about, Merancy explained. “You need to launch all of the pieces — Gateway and the landers, those would be on commercial flights,” she continued. That’s scheduled to begin in 2022 and must be completed and assembled before a lunar landing is feasible. “And then you’d actually have Artemis 3, which would be a lunar landing mission in 2024,” Merancy concluded.

It’s a lot of moving parts, and this ambitious schedule assumes that each piece of this goes smoothly, and there are no huge setbacks along the way. Dittmar reminded us that not a single human-rated spacecraft or rocket has ever been delivered less than two years behind schedule. So the question is whether this accelerated timeline is actually doable. “The timeline is very aggressive,” Merancy confirmed to Engadget. “I think it’s doable, but it all depends on getting started very quickly.”

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‘Iron Man VR’ developers explain the game’s free-roaming flight

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The aim was to make flying feel “wildly fun and liberating” using a combination of technical elements. The most important factor was flight that felt natural. To achieve that, movements have to adhere to the rules of physics. So for each frame, the game calculates “up to a dozen forces, such as thrust, drag and gravity” to make the path through the air feel believable.

Conserving forward momentum is also key, so that players can see the effects of forward motion when banking into steep turns or participating in dog fights.

We’re not all Tony Stark-level geniuses though, so there are also systems in place to make flying easier. There are invisible “bumpers” like the ones in the gutters of bowling alleys which cushion players from buildings and other hard edges. And if you crash into something at full speed, the bumpers will soften your collision.

The VR experience comes with its own suit AI too, although it’s not quite as personable as J.A.R.V.I.S. The contextual suit settings will detect whether the player is performing precision maneuvers requiring a lower speed or whether they’re kicking off with full-throttle speed and adjust accordingly.

The game doesn’t have a release date yet, but expect more details to be made available in the next few months.

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