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 - Walnut

I am updating my original review. I have since listened to a lot more material and even got a second preamp with capacitance control to try to try to further improve the sound. The Fluance with the Ortofon blue is still bright sounding compared to both my Shure V15 Type IV and compared to CDs of the same albums. The bright sound does give you more presence, but it can be harsh on cymbals etc. The turn table itself is quite good - the issue for me is the Ortofon Blue. I am using Martin Logan ESL speakers in a small carpeted room. I have both a solid state amp (Sound Artist SA-200IA) and a tube amp (Willsenton R8) I switch between as well as several preamps, and I find the same results pretty consistently. I can adjust out the brightness with tone control on the SA-200IA (the R8 does not have tone control), but this is never necessary except when I use the FT85. Clearly many other people are OK with the tone but these are my observations for you to consider.

What can I say this was a hit or miss since I had no idea what I was getting but I knew I wanted a high quality player for Christmas for my hubby and I had help from his best friend and I went with this one I haven’t seen my hubby this happy and years I don’t know if that a good thing lol but I was thrilled he loved it and was easy and so much fun to set up along with his best friend. He also loved that I went with the bamboo finish since he likes most of his stuff in black I was scare he won’t like it but he loved it! The sound is superb and just amazing overall get it!

So....decided it was time to get my vinyl up and running. Had a Denon dp300 table + Onkyo nr777 receiver + Polk 65t towers. I just wasnt getting the sound I felt like I was expecting so, the chase began. Started with an Ortofon 2m blue cartridge....sounded pretty good but....then bought a Project S2 pre thinking the pre on the Denon probably wasnt that great still.....meh. I even bought directional RCA cables the were...mid high end. Had begun to look at new speakers. The Polks were very highly regarded when I bought them but felt like maybe something better. In the meantime, I bought a handful of remastered old favorite LPs and one evening I noticed that the needle on the Denon table was running across the label before returning. My wife and I had moved a couple years ago and the Denon did not have an arm lock. I took the cartridge head off before moving but, I started to wonder if the tonearm hadnt taken a beating during the move. so....started looking at tables....Project, Music hall etc....etc....One evening I stumbled across the RT85 so I began to look into it. I liked the autostop feature for obvious reasons. The more reviews I read, the more I felt like I could take the chance on a,unknown to me company. Besides, they threw in a Ortofon 2m blue with it.....($300) cartidge. The unit arrived well packed. I am in my sixties so am very experienced on putting together and setting up turntables. Setting this thing up was a breeze...not sure why some folks have such a hard time. (I did need to align the cartridge a little bit but, the instructions come with a protractor so...no issue). Once I got it all leveled and hooked up, I pulled out the remastered Steely Dan Aja. More stereo systems were sold in the 70s by demoing Aja than any other....blah blah blah. Anyway....as soon as I dropped the needle, there was the sound I was looking for. Clear separation.....full eq with punchy low end without being rumbly (have a sub for that)...midrange was right their. No need for new speakers....the Polks were as advertised. Was glad I bought the Project preamp. Everything these days needs to be broken in. Ortofon says 40 hours plus on the blue needle....hell, the RCA cables recommended 100+ hours....sounded stellar first time so I expect my set up will just keep getting better. Bottom line....buy this table. For about $500 bucks you get a quality belt drive, auto shutoff (lots of music puts me to sleep), a nice acrylic platter and maybe the best, somewhat, lower priced end cartridge in the biz all wrapped in a gorgeous package. The sound quality is amazing. I am an ardent reader or Sound and Vision as well as Stereophile and guarantee you wont find a better quality turntable, with the features, anywhere close to this price.

Great mid level turntable. Easy to setup and use. Good quality sound from a reasonably priced product.

I purchased this as an upgrade from a Crosley C6. I had about 100 dollars into the Crosley but it wobbled bad and eventually the belt wore out. I took this as a chance to upgrade. I researched for about a year and kept coming back to The Fluance RT85 paired with the Fluance P10 Preamp. My first impression out of the box was it feels nice to the touch. I got it set up and was amazed buy the lack of wobble in the platter. It is a lot brighter of a sound than the Crosley but much more crisp and clean. I static discharge and dry brush before dropping the stylus and its so quiet. I definitely recommend this turntable. I honestly feel that, you cant find better turntable for $499.99, if you prefer a warmer sound go with the Fluance RT85N. It is the same turntable as the RT85N with a different cartridge.

I am not an audiophile, just a guy who likes to listen to records. I bought the white Fluance RT85 because of the positive reviews and because it looked cool with its acrylic platter, etc. I have owned many different turntables and record players over the years, but this one is the most expensive. Overall its an okay turntable, but thats probably as far as I would go with it. Colored vinyl really pops on the white, though the visual aesthetic proves more impressive than actually using it. The entire tonearm mechanism feels super cheap. The tonearm lever, stand and safety latch actually feels like something youd find on a cheapo plastic portable record player like a Crosley. Maybe I got a bad one, but thats my honest opinion. Theres a lot of slack in the lever, it bounces the arm if you lift it too quickly and the tonearm safety latch feels like its going to break off every time I use it. My last turntable was a Pro-ject Essential III and even though the body of this Fluance is much more substantial, the entire experience of lowering the needle with the tonearm lever on the Pro-ject was more solid and satisfying, whereas the RT85 feels flimsy and crappy. The Ortofon 2m Blue looks cool, but to be honest, for a $250 cartridge it doesnt really sound much better to me than the OM10 on my Pro-ject, which didnt sound much better to me than the ADC QLM32 Mrk III on my Hitachi HT-324 from the 80s. I told you Im not an audiophile. Aside from the whole tonearm mess, I still think this is an okay turntable. Not worth $500 in my opinion, but one mans trash may be another mans treasure. Honestly, I was somewhat disappointed. But, just like all hobbies, we all buy new, more expensive gadgets, looking for perfection, but only getting mediocrity. I was hoping the grass was actually greener, but turns out its just more grass.

A lot of research went into this. This is my second player, which was upgraded from an Audio Technica. Its sounds great. It has Auto-Stop. The Stylus from the Orf 2M put out a great crisp sound. Its worth the research before you buy. Your system that you are hooking up to makes it sound even better. Even if your looking for your first time player and can fit the budget, its worth a give try. Happy Spinning.

Sounds wonderful. I’m hearing so much more, the soundstage is vast and immersive! Connected to the Fluance preamp with a 20ft rca run to my amp, and although that’s probably not the most ideal setup, it’s still light years ahead of my previous setup with a technics LP120. What an absolute pleasure. Love the auto return feature too. To my ears it sounds better than my friend’s Pro-Ject EVO when connected to the same system too. Go for it!

This turntable sounds so good! Detail is crystal clear, especially highs. But the mids and lows sound great too. As an example for the highs, I was listening to a track on the Tool Lateralus album that has a high hat hit early in the track, and it sounded really similar to what you hear playing a high hat in real life. I’ve listened to that same record before on other turntables and never heard that before! On a Billie Eilish record I could hear a lot more detail in her vocal layering - vocal parts I’d never heard before, which was cool. All the components are study. I was surprised by the weight, and I think that must contribute to an impressively low level of noise. Set up was pretty straightforward and fun for me, and I didn’t have problems with installing the dust covers like some of the other reviewers did. I’m really happy with this, feels like Christmas in May!

I’ve collected vinyl for many decades and have several turntables ranging from vintage Thorens and several Technics to an expensive VPI with Clearaudio Maestro cartridge. I’m a big fan of the Ortofon line and when I saw that the RT85 Reference came with a 2M Blue installed I had to jump at the opportunity. I had purchased speakers from Fluance some years ago and was impressed with their quality and customer service so I expected nothing different with this purchase. I read several of the online reviews that were impressed with the quality of the build, the ease of use, the wonderful Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge and the outstanding sound quality. My unit arrived professionally packed and assembly was a breeze. Kudos for a clearly written user manual. Even though I am not a beginner the clear instructions would be easy for anyone to follow. Once installed I put it to the test with a wide variety of genres and styles of music. I’m still impressed and I’ve been listening every day for a few weeks now. This is a killer combo and I’m still shaking my head in amazement that Fluance has been able to pack so much quality in such an inexpensive unit. The auto stop feature is especially appreciated as my other manual turntables lack anything like that, requiring me to get up and replace the tonearm at the end of each side. While auto stop is not as convenient as semiautomatic, it’s a welcome addition to an otherwise manual turntable. Well done Fluance for putting a quality audio product within reach of almost anyone who is into vinyl. It really shines with my Parks Audio Budgie Tube preamp and has become my favorite turntable!!!! Five solid stars!!!!