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

Definitely recommend this turntable. I believe it is probably the best turntable under $1000. So easy to set up. Sounds amazing. I mean the stylus on this turntable alone is worth half the price of the turntable and you get an acrylic platter. The turntable is dead silent. Even when playing with speakers on the same surface there is no resonance. It comes out of the box exactly as it is stated. When I set it up I used the suggested settings. The weight is spot on. I set it the tracking force as recommended and then put it on a scale and it was within .002 grams. I set the anti skate and then tested it and it was perfectly still. When I pulled out my protractor the cartridge was already aligned. So easy to set up and easy to listen to. If youre looking stop now. This is a fantastic turntable. UPDATE------------------------------------------------------- This turntable produces so much detail. A very spacious sound stage with wonderful reproduction of the instruments and vocals. I can really get an idea of where everyone was standing in the recording studio. I cant say enough about the quality of the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. That combined with a great tone arm, a plinth that is built on top of rubber spring loaded feet and an acrylic platter. It is going to be hard to beat this combination for less than $1000. It is very easy to set up. As I previously stated just follow the instructions and you are off and running. You can trust that head shell will be properly aligned and that the tracking force and anti-skate will be accurate. The amount of detail that Fluance put into building this turntable really shines through. It even comes with white gloves to keep finger prints off of the beautiful finish. The motor is dead silent and the speed control really works. There is no detectable wow and flutter with this turntable. Even the queuing lever is top notch. There really is nothing about this turntable that I find to be a negative. If this turntable were double the price I could still justify recommending it. You will not be disappointed. If you find my review to be useful please take the time to vote it as helpful. Thank you for your time and enjoy your new turntable.

I did quite a lot of research before I decided on the Fluance RT85. My old vintage turntable was a Denon with an Audio Technica moving coil cartridge. The stylus became bent and unusable so I decided to replace the whole turntable. I shortly entertained the idea of replacing it with a vintage model such as a Technics, but quickly talked myself out of buying a table in unknown condition. My choices then went to a Project Carbon EVO, an Audio Technica L120 or the Fluance. I selected the Fluance for three reasons: 1. Admittedly minor, but I like that the Fluance will lift the tonearm at the end of the record. 2. The Fluance includes an acrylic platter instead of it being an upgrade. 3. The cartridge, an Ortophon 2M Blue, without listening to any of the offerings, seemed to be the best choice coming off a moving coil cartridge. Im particular to a bright sound rather than a warm one. The reviews of this cartridge were all overwhelmingly positive. There are other differences in the tables. The AT is a direct drive table and the Project does not have a detachable headshell. But the cartridge, in my mind has the most to do with the final sound of the table. All this being said, the Fluance was pretty easy to set up out of the box. The cartridge was mounted at the factory on a removable headshell. I leveled the table with the included bubble level and I purchased a stylus force gauge to make sure the tracking force was correctly set. Im running this turntable through a 100wpc Yamaha CR-2020 receiver and through my JBL Decade L36 speakers. I grabbed a few of my old college vinyl collection and immediately was blown away. Whether it was due to the cartridge or some other combination of the Fluances manufacturing prowess, the sound was superb. While probably not as bright as my old moving coil cartridge, the sound was definitely not skewed to the warm side. My older ears admittedly might be responsible for the reduced high end sound perception. So far, no negative comments. Im just really pleased with this turntable and I think the long research period seems to be well worth it. The standard comment that you should go and hear all your choices before buying still holds a lot of water. Its not always very practical or convenient to do so, however. For this choice, Ive replaced common wisdom with an in depth perusal of the Comments Section - and it didnt do me wrong.

The sound quality is excellent! Take the time needed to property adjust the arm!

Simple to set up RCA/Ground terminals make it easy to integrate into system. No hum running through my amp/speakers The glass platter is beautiful and spins smoothly But the biggest highlight? The sound! Upgrading from an Audio-Technica AT-LP60 and am blown away by the clarity on the RT85 in comparison.

Of a higher order..

Definitely worth it

The Fluance RT85 is a massive step up from my previous turntable (the AT-LP60), in terms of both sound quality and quality of construction. The combination of the Ortofon Blue cartridge, the acrylic platter, and the overall precision and craftsmanship of the unit is really hard to overstate. This is a beautiful, beautiful turntable with very little coloration to the sound. Once properly grounded, it is dead quiet with no discernible noise or distortion at all. Set-up was easy. If you take your time and follow the instruction manual carefully, you honestly can’t go wrong. I had also watched some tutorials on YouTube in preparation for it’s arrival, so I already had a pretty good sense of how to set it up. Like most higher-end turntables, the RT85 does not have a built in preamp (which prevents any added coloration to the signal), so a separate purchase may be necessary if you don’t already own a stand alone phono preamp. Despite the added cost this is actually a plus, since it gives you complete control over how to shape the signal. The sound of the Fluance RT85 is pristine and accurate. The servo motor speed is constantly monitored and corrected for accuracy, so there’s no need to fine-tune the speed adjustments. The cartridge, which comes pre-aligned, reproduces a full soundstage with a wide, flat frequency response and incredible detail. I have the auto-stop disabled, so I can’t review this feature- but it’s nice to know it’s there, if I should ever need to use it. It would truly be hard to imagine a more elegant turntable, even at two or three times the cost. It simply steps out of the way and lets you appreciate the original quality of your LP’s and 45’s, without adding or subtracting anything from the sound. If you are looking to make the leap into a reasonably affordable, reference quality turntable, the Fluance RT85 is the perfect way to take your appreciation of vinyl into the audiophile realm. Five stars for both sound quality and craftsmanship!

This turntable has met and exceeded my expectations. I am not a complete audiofile like some people I know. Setting it was a bit tricky. I did order the tonearm gram meter to get it dialed in. So that was something I should have done at the time I ordered this. The packaging was great. Delivered day early. My friends who do know equipment said it was a great turntable for the money. And I probably will upgrade the cartridge eventually. I did purchase the record cleaner and that has made a world of difference on the sound. Highly recommend.

My nearly fifty year old Dual 1218 turntable was having serious problems that I couldnt fix, but I was skeptical about buying a new turntable having been told that they dont build them like they used to. It used to be that top quality turntables were all direct drive, while the cheapest were belt drive. But modern technology such as electronic speed control have changed everything. Anyways, the performance of this turntable with its Ortofon 2M Blue stylus is a vast improvement over my old Dual 1218 with its Acutex stylus. Its also nice that it is supplied with premium quality RCA cables. Im amazed with the sound clarity on all my records, each instrument sounds just right, the vocals are clear and the artists voices are true to what they sounded like when I heard them live, the channel separation is excellent and all the subtle background sounds can be heard as well. There is a downside to this sensitivity in that every little scratch and nick in my old worn records can be readily heard as snaps and pops. As to the speed, its spot on as verified with a strobe light and disc. The speed controller really does its job so theres no need for a manual pitch control like in the old days. The turntable runs completely silent with no mechanical or feedback noise, so you really cant tell its even turned on until the stylus contacts the record. The auto stop feature is great since it not only stops the turntable at the end of a record, but also only starts it when the tonearm is removed from its rest and placed over the record. Since it is connected to a switched power outlet at the rear of my receiver, I simply leave it turned on all the time with the speed set to 33. Initial setup was almost trouble free, except for the instructions telling me to slip the counter weight onto the rear of tonearm until it clicks and then turn it until the tonearm is balanced. So, I turned and turned and turned without getting even close to the balance point. I viewed a few online videos, and realized that you have to keep pushing the weight past the first click until it clicks again and then again and then again, four times in all before it is finally truly installed. After that, two quick turns and I got it balanced. Phew ! Also, the markings on the tracking force and anti-skating dials are a greyish color that are very hard to see, so I needed a bright work light to see them clearly to make the adjustments. I did appreciate that the cartridge was already installed and aligned on a separate carrier that screws into the tonearm. This should also make stylus changes much easier. Ive had the turntable for over a month, and not experienced any problems. I went ahead and purchased the 1.7 lb weight from Fluance, although frankly I cant hear any difference. One thing I would not advise is running a cleaning brush on a record with the turntable turned on, since the motor is not very powerful and it could cause the belt to slip and wear as the speed controller attempts to maintain the set speed. So, overall, I am very pleased with this purchase, and at its current $500 price I think its a steal.

Beautiful wood finish. Easy to set up and adjust. Auto stop is sketchy though… Update 03/04/23: The table is very subjective to external vibrations. It is difficult to clean a record on the acrylic platter... Vinyl records slip as you attempt to clean a record and the record stops spinning... The drive belt isnt very taught either causing it not to grip the motor spindle when applying slight pressure during record cleaning.. Recommend using an off-the-table cleaning methods... Minus one star...