Fluance RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player with Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge, Acrylic Platter, Speed Control Motor High Mass MDF Wood Plinth Vibration Isolation Feet - Piano Black

Extremely good turntable for the money with a great cartridge that costs half the turntable on its own. I ended up selling my RT82 and getting this one instead and I’ve notice a massive jump up in sound quality that is definitely worth the extra money if you can afford it.

I recently had to replace one of my turntables. I own a VPI Scout and replaced a Shinola Runwell with the less expensive RT 85 Fluance. After three years, the Shinola Runwell developed a tracking problem. I sent it back to Shinola for repair (Shinola has a great warranty). When the turntable was sent back, the motor was damaged. Due to the pandemic, Shinola offered to replace it but production was delayed. Eventually the replacement turntable arrived after two months. Unfortunately, it was also damaged upon delivery. The motor made a noise during rotation. Shinola agreed to refund my money. The Shinola was a $2500.00 turntable.

So, you have $500 to spend on a turntable. What to do after all the research youve done? The problem is you cant compare the sound of different TTs. Most people reading this are not in the weeds audiophiles. We dont constantly buy and sell components looking to tweak this or that. We just want something that sounds really good for the money and we plan to keep that gear for years. I can answer the sound part. My Fluance RT85 sounds fantastic to my ears. After years of listening to cds on my really nice system, I was skeptical that I would hear a major difference. I was wrong. The sound is hard to quantify. Its richer, fuller, more musical. Value for the money? I cant answer that. Does a $500 TT sound that much better than a $300 TT? I dont know. I had my budget, so I decided to buy the best TT, according to reviews, in my price range. Value vs. other brands? I had narrowed my choices to Fluance RT85 and Pro-ject DC EVO. Does Fluance sound better than Pro-ject? Probably not. I just felt the value was greater with the Fluance because of the acrylic platter and the generally agreed upon great sound of the ortofon blue cartridge. Plus, the anti-skate set up with the Pro-ject turned me off. So, long story short, you cant go wrong with the Fluance RT85 in this price range.

A beautiful turntable. It was easy to set up, and it sounds great. Love the adjustable feet. 5-stars all around.

Excellent turntable. 100% worth the money.

Great sound and build. Nice looking too, and easy to set up

An outstanding turntable. Quality in every way. I only wish I could adjust the height the tonearm but you cant have everything at this price point.

I set up turntable. really not a problem, took about 1 hr. I took my time. Sounds good , really easy to use, no need for a fully automatic. It has some nice features like auto shut off and the tone arm locking mechanism. Has worked flawlessly for a couple of months now.

Great design great sounds easy to set up... nothing to complain about!

Lots of value with the RT85. Been dealing with grinding noise coming from either the motor and/or the platter/spindle. At first, they said I did not set up the motor cap correctly (I did). Then, they said the motor cap was bad (it wasn’t) and sent a new one. The grinding noise has become so irritating, it is transmitted through the cartridge and to the speakers. Taking a lot of time through their support people who don’t seem to be very technically astute.