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 a conductor, no not one of those big-name maestros who occupy podiums in front of the finest musical ensembles I am a conductor of music, one who more than 50 years has had the privilege and expereince waving arms or baton in front of singers, orchestras, showbands, rock bands, jazz groups, soloists, childrens choirs, heck even trained hogs! I KNOW what live music sounds like. And I confess, I have been obsessed with audio stuff since I could say Heathkit and Dynaco. So what in the name of melody, harmony and rhythm does any of that have to do with this review of the Fluance RT85 turntable? This marvelous machine also knows music. Once you follow the set-up instructions , which are easy to follow IF you follow them, The RT85 sits elegantly and unobtrusively making music; music as it is intended. Sure you purist audioholics out there can spend hours hooking up the poor thing up to an endless chain of analytical devices testing wow, flutter, rumble, anti-skating, (Hailing form Minnesota, I have nothing against skating) and other four-syllable calibrations. But if you truly want to savor your music, be it Bach, Beatles, Coldplay or Coltrane, trust this music man. When that vinyl sphere centers on the RT85s eye-catching and perfectly-balanced acrylic platter, and the nude diamond of the high-quality Ortofon Blue cartridge finds its groove, get ready to hear and feel MUSIC! The superb craftmanship and outward beauty of the turntable combined with its dead-silent operation and dead-on speed accuracy make the RT85 the perfect choice and a true value for anyone who just wants to enjoy music. In Summation, WOW! ( there is no flutter), Thank You Fluance!

Upgraded from an Audio-Technica AT-LP120 Ive had for many years. Going from the AT95E stylus to the Ortofon 2M Blus stylus is very nice! The RT85 is just great value for the money. Running this turntable on a Denon AVR-X3800H pre-out to an Emotiva BasX A3 for the front stage. Recommended!

I decided on this turntable to replace my aging 1970s full automatic Dual 1241 running on 1980s Sony STR-2800. I wanted a more up to date turntable. But it just didn’t work out for me. Here are my feedbacks: Good: Item arrived in 2 days (one day late than estimated) Packaging was well done. Bad Finish and built shows manufacturing errors if you pay close attention. Piano black is too plastic looking. It doesn’t have the real piano finish IMO. Cover had some glue like marks which would be hard to see once installed (see the photo) Ugly: Arm tone adjustment even if you read the instructions 10 times don’t work. Not possible to place have 180 degrees flat level as instructed. Most importantly, I have MAJOR issue I didn’t have with my old Dual. I can walk, even lightly, without turntable skipping. It has ZERO insulation from floor. No matter what I dis with anti skating or tone army weight issue did not go away. To me this turntable is useless. Those who enjoyed it however, I salut you. I would definitely avoid this brand. It seems as it is mostly hype. I am going to try a cheaper model made by Sony.

I bought an RT85 a few weeks ago so feel confident in making some review comments about it. I think its important to know what this turntable is and isnt, in order to keep expectations in line with the price you are paying. To keep this short, heres my summary of pros and cons: Pros: - Beautifully made, finished, and packaged. Just gorgeous to look at. - Easy to assemble and setup. Everything is in the box, including decent RCA cables, a turntable level, 45 rpm adapter, power supply, etc. Less than 1 hour after you open the box, youre listening to records. - Easy to change headshells with a relatively strong screw-on connection. - Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge has excellent sound. - 33/45 switch and a quality belt-drive system for very good hifi sound. Cons: - The arm has significant microphonics. That means when you touch the arm or the lifter, it makes noises through the speakers corresponding to your hand touches. Does not affect playing after you release the arm on the record. The company says this is normal but an older Denon turntable it replaced did not do this with a similar cartridge. - The arm is not adjustable for height. The height matches the Ortofon cartridge perfectly (the arm is parallel to the record when playing) but is not right for other brands. I tried two other cartridges/headshells and one was so much less in height that the needle wouldnt go down far enough to touch the record until I installed 5mm of shims to lower the cartridge within the headshell. Im not sure what the benefit of removable headshells is if you cant adjust the arm easily afterward. - The RT85 comes with the special acrylic platter (instead of metal). They claimed this platter doesnt need a mat under the record, so none was provided. This is really not true in my experience. If you try to clean the record with a cleaning brush while it is rotating on the platter, it will slip on the platter - not good for the record! Im using a 2mm felt pad on mine and not only does it not slip but the sound is improved. - It has a 3-point (3 feet) mounting system. Yes, 3 points define a plane, but that doesnt make this turntable particularly stable. Not recommended for DJ or rough handling use. Overall, remember youre getting both a turntable and good cartridge for $500 so you cant complain too much. The sound quality is good but not up there with the multi-$k esoteric ones. The only reason I bought this turntable was because I needed a removable headshell for testing purposes and this turntable is the only one I found with a belt drive, which is the best for hifi. However, if you are a DJ with similar needs, you will probably be looking elsewhere to get the full flexibility you need.

Nice looking turntable works fine. first turntable was DOA I returned it and reordered second one was good. I wished it have a few more features but its over all good buy.

Suena espectacular

This is my first turntable so technically I am a beginner. Set up was easy with the included instructions and the sound out of this thing is crazy good. Super detailed with the mods sounding just a touch recessed. Perfect for me - human hearing already is overly sensitive to those frequencies anyway. Matched it with the ifi phone preamp and it is officially the best input into my Denon. Something about the way LPs reproduce treble (especially cymbals) is just unmatched. Love the Ortofon blue cartridge and it is easy to change out if I want..switching speeds is a breeze too with the switch on top. At this price the turntable IS NOT fully automatic though. Splurged for the bamboo and it looks clean and modern. LOVE IT!

Quality entry level system for a good price! Interesting enough Im putting together a mid century modern spin on a project using the Fluance RT85N. Needles to say Im beyond impressed and would recommend to anyone interested in reasonably priced quality Hi-fi stereo equipment!

Definitely worth it

I went back and forth with a number of different tables including a Rega P1 or a Pro-Ject Debut. Fluency showed up later in the picture, but the RT85 ticked all of my boxes. Even though Fluance is a newer brand, lots of reviews recommended their products and any skepticism was quashed once I got my RT85. I wanted a table with a nice cartridge, an auto-stop feature and an aesthetically pleasing one. I upgraded from a 13 year old AT-LP60 that was always giving me speed issues and subpar performance that didn’t bring any life into my vinyl. Now that I wanted to get back into my record collection, I decided a better table would make it more enjoyable. PACKAGE The table arrived in perfect shape. In fact, I opted for an open box model for a bit less and was sent one straight from Fluance. I have not noticed any damage or wear whatsoever. Some other open box items may have a blemish or two, but everything here was flawless and packaged like new. Lots of things were included - an easy setup guide, a bubble level, 45 adapter, rca cables and a ground wire, AND white gloves. I do recommend using the gloves to assemble everything - the table is quite prone to fingerprints and smudges. Once it is setup, you won’t have to touch more than the tonearm and the speed setting. BUILD The RT85 features (in my case) a walnut colored plinth and an acrylic platter that doesn’t require a mat. It’s hefty, but not too heavy to be burdensome - it’s great to have a little weight to it for its security on a table and to isolate the table as beat as possible. It has clean edges that give it a sleek and modern look. The removable dust cover is perfect for keeping the surface dust free when you’re not playing and it slides off and on with ease. The rubber feet are adjustable and cushion the table perfectly. With the included bubble level, you can quickly adjust the feet to achieve a perfect balance. The tonearm balancing is easy to figure out and the included instructions guide you step by step through the process, which I highly recommend you read through a few times to get it exactly right. The table does require a phono preamp - if it had one built in, you’d be limited to the performance of an onboard preamp. Requiring a separate preamp gives you unlimited options for how you’d like your sound to be. PERFORMANCE The RT85 features an Ortofon 2M Blue, which in its own right is not only expensive but a heavy hitter. Considering that the price of the 2M blue is nearly half the price of the table, it is nice to see that Fluance didn’t cut any corners on the rest of table. Throwing on a new copy of John Mayer’s Where The Light Is, I was amazed at how quiet everything sounded right off the bat. Neon shone through, bright and detailed, but also a warmth that allowed for a full body presence. Guitar plucks and strums sounded expertly realistic and alive. Bass thumped deeply without being boomy or overwhelming. Including the sound of the audience, every audible characteristic had its own room to be heard on a wide but controlled and inviting soundstage. Even on older LPs where bass can be a bit underwhelming, it had plenty of life when played on the RT85. The 2M blue captures plenty of detail and subtle nuances. I noticed a huge improvement from my last turntable, where music sounded flat and lifeless. I finally began to hear the differences that makes vinyl stand out. Music became much more engaging and lively, each part of a track being given its own space to cut through. While playing older records with quite a bit of wear, I do hear some “snap, crackle and pop”. It’s unavoidable in the world of vinyl, but the Fluance plays just fine through it and after a deep clean, records may have some surface noise but it disappears once the tracks begin and I can still hear the music with incredible clarity. In most cases, it’s the record and not the table anyway. The RT85 performs quite accurately. It adjusts to wow and flutter automatically and I consistently had results within a few degrees of 33 1/3. I never notice any speed fluctuation and so far, everything I’ve played sounds perfectly normal and as I remember them. It can play 45s as well and includes the adapter. The tonearm is nice and light, but a little delicate so it’s important to lock it in when not being used and use care when queuing something up so that the stylus lands where it needs to. It’s important to keep your records clean, and in turn the table and stylus will function well. I use a carbon fiber brush to clean each side before playing and I drop the stylus in zerostat gel after every side. The RT85 does have an auto stop feature that enables when the stylus has reached the end and nears two inches of the spindle. I find that it doesn’t work often for me, but that is typically because the record label reaches over two inches and then auto stop won’t engage. It’s not anything that bothers me too much. CONCLUSION The RT85 is such an amazing upgrade for me. I’m hearing so much more from my vinyl and that’s convinced me it was worth it. I find myself using it on a daily basis and the ritual of playing records makes the entire experience quite enjoyable with a good turntable. This is an excellent table for anyone looking to make the jump from an entry level turntable to something more serious if you consider vinyl to be a passion and want to hear what it really offers. The excellent value and quality of the RT85 makes this stand out as an solid performer, even with stiff competition in this price range. I highly recommend it.