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

Excellent sound. Great build quality!!!

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 and well constructed turntable. Flawless performance from a well constructed player with an outstanding cartridge. You can spend more and get better, but your not going to find better at this price.

My last turntable was a Rega P3, I spent around 1200.00 that included the Ortofon Blue. This is like less than half and sounds just as good. One of the biggest selling points was the bayonet style cartridge. My Rega didnt have that and that was the problem the wires got messed up. Again sound is great, quality is good. I purchased another Belt just in case for 20 bucks and got a weight stabilizer.

Wife bought this for me for anniversary gift. And love it. I had a decent basic Sony turntable, used for 15 years. I really like the quality of the flouance. I almost got a 83 with reg platter and red cartridge. Would have worked ok, but I need a substantial upgrade. I’d definitely recommend that model to anyone getting first turntable if they have a receiver and speakers. I also got the flouance amp, since not built in. Sound is awesome, I hear all sorts extra stuff. I truly now know, when people say it’s best on vinyl that I know what they mean. Only complaint is I originally ordered the 85 in the dark brown wood and it came with a very obvious chip on the front corner, and could tell box had been opened after opening the purchase of the light wood model.

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.

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!

My pioneer turntable from 1978 finally died and I had to get a new turntable. I did my research and finally settled on the RT85 and am happy I did. This sounds amazing. I was a little confused by balancing tonearm instructions in the manual but fluance had an excellent video online that showed exactly how to do it. I ordered a tonearm scale just to make sure the tracking weight was set correctly and the scale measured 1.89g. This turntable is great and I would not hesitate purchasing any fluance turntable.

The RT85 is the best turntable I have ever owned. It sounds fantastic! The Ortofon Blue cartridge and stylus are superb. I spent an extra hundred and bought an Ortofon Red stylus that is interchangeable with the Blue. I wanted something to use on records that are not in the best condition without ruining my Blue, which is around $200 to replace. The unit does not have a built-in preamplifier and so if you are considering buying one that may be a deal killer unless your amplifier or receiver has a preamplifier. It also does not have an automatic return feature, which would have made it even more awesome but not a deal breaker for me. It does have a switch on the back that allows you to turn on an auto stop feature to keep the stylus from going around endlessly but I found it takes around ten rotations before it stops. By that time I am up and turning over the record. It tracks at only 1.8g but you could go as light as 1.5. I prefer to stay with the recommend weight. I found the unit easy to set up right out of the box with very little to put together. It took maybe twenty minutes. The cartridge was already perfectly aligned by the factory and that is a fantastic perk because doing so can be a pain for those of us not too good with small detailed adjustments. The turntable is very very quiet. I hear no noise from the platter whatsoever. The acrylic platter is heavy enough to give good stability. If you are thinking of a turntable in or around this price range I doubt you could get better performance for under $1000 that is this quality. I have owned many turntables in my lifetime and this is a winner. Im sure the models under the RT85 are very good machines as well but I think it would be worth saving your money a little longer to save upgrading later and spending more money. You probably wouldnt need to buy another turntable for many years to come.

This is a fantastic record player. For the money it is so well-built and easy to use. With the 2M blue cartridge. It sounds fantastic with crystal clear highs and very deep bass can’t beat this record player for the money.