(Image credit: Lillian Brown)

When we think of the best turntables, we generally think of function first, form second. But unlike many other audio players, there's something magical in a vinyl deck that looks as good as it sounds.

That's a sentiment clearly shared by designer Lillian Brown. She has created what might be the perfect record player for those of us who love the physicality of vinyl records.

Her Orbit turntable turns sound into motion with 39 wooden tiles that move with the music. According to Brown, it's designed to "make music visible".

The tiles shift and flip in response to the music with the outer tiles reacting more to lower frequencies and those on the inner circle respond to the highs.

I think that's really appealing. If you like vinyl records as much as I, you'll know how much more physical it is than tapping the play icon on a streaming app. And if you're the kind of person who loves to watch VU meters dance on an amplifier, then the Orbit will likely to be right up your street.

There's just one catch – you can't buy it. The turntable was created by Brown as part of her senior thesis at the Savannah College of Art and as yet there are no indications that it'll ever be put into production.

(Image credit: Lillian Brown)

How the Orbit turntable makes music visual

The Orbit is considerably larger than the typical turntable too, with the record sitting in the middle on a slightly raised, wooden section and then the tiles arranged around it form two concentric circles. The turnable is one metre tall and to my eyes resembles a very large pie.

The Orbit turntable is made from CNC-milled cherry wood with thin stainless steel insets and 3D-printed components, and was made in collaboration with machinist Jake Harding of Forsyth Metal Works.

The table itself is direct-drive with a hidden linear tracking tonearm, and that sits underneath the record so there's no visual distraction from the LP and the wooden tiles.

While you can't buy this particular turntable, I think it does tie-in with a wider trend of people wanting music in more tactile formats. That's recently brought us retro cassette players and boom boxes, as well as the ongoing vinyl revival.