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

Some snobs have called this an entry level unit. For me this is s high end as it gets without spending a fortune for basically imagined sonic benefits. Its a wonderful unit. The only caveat is the location of the cue lever. Impossible to see. I took the top cover of a blue BIC pen cut off the shirt clip and placed over the cue lever it fits well and now its easier to see. By adding a drop of red nail polish at the end of the BIC and now the cue lever is visible. Just a minor annoyance that is easy to fix. Very recommendable unit overall.

Purchased as a gift for a family member; assembly was simple and straightforward with no issues, only time will tell for longterm reliability. As for the sound, I could hear no rumble or motor noise, speed accuracy was exact at both 331/3 and 45rpms. The removable headshell would make it easy to swap out phono cartridges if so desired. Many positive reviews for this model in and outside of the Amazon jungle...

This is probably one of a few avaialbe turntables in the group of products that could be considered the best sub-$500 turntable. I ALMOST picked a different brand/model....but it didnt have the auto-stop feature (i.e. the Fluance was the only one that stopped the record when it was done playing). The others run kept spinning and spinning. Unless you plan to be around/get up to turn off your turntable when the record is done, THIS IS IMPORTANT!! Its nice that I can throw on a record and do whatever I need to do for the day and not have to worry about being around to turn off the turntable when the record is done playing to prevent premature wearing out of the stylus/needle. This is NOT the ONLY reason to buy this turntable -- its fantastic in every other way and meets/beats everything else in the price range. But being able to run to the store/go outside/take a shower/etc after putting on a record was important to me, so I chose this turntable. You WILL need a phono pre-amp or a Receiver with a built-in one. But if youre looking at this turntable, your Receiver probably already has one (or spend the $$ for a dedicated phono pre-amp -- I got the Schiit Mani...but the Fluance pre-amp is good too as well as a bunch of others). Note - this is a rabbit-hole. Once I got back into vinyl, I suddenly found myself NEEDING all kinds of other things.....Ive spend way more $$ on equipment than actual records. But its fun and a good hobby and reminds me of when I was young and records were popular. Luckily, Im older so I can afford to spend a little $$ on fancy cables/cleaners/etc.

First things first. For what you get this turntable is amazing. The Ortofon blue produces amazing sound. I also have this paired with some Bowers bookshelves though. I really wanted to give the company 1 star over how they handled shipping. Communication was sloppy and I feel like I was lied too about when it shipped. I was not pleased with that. Once I got the turntable and set it up I changed my mind. I let the shipping fiasco slip and focused on the product. It’s amazing. Heavy, well built. The acrylic platter is awesome. Setup is easy, but you will need some tools to ensure it’s done right. Thankfully the cartridge came pre aligned, but the tone arm counterbalance is a little bit off. When I put a scale under the stylus their 1.8 was actually 2.0 for weight. I’d say to invest in a simple scale to make sure the right amount of pressure is being applied to your table. Not a big deal. At this level you should have some knowledge of how to set up a turntable anyways. The setup instructions they provide are good though. All in all it’s a great mid level turntable and more than enough to last for many years to come. I can see why the reviews are so good. I’ll definitely recommend this to others. Just don’t take what they say regarding shipping too seriously.

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.

Simplicity at its best. You do need an amp that has a Phono input or add an external pre-amp. Just remember when you buy something really nice like this turntable the rest of your system might also need an upgrade! Regardless, I got tired of dealing with an old 70s Dual auto-turntable and there is just a major sound quality difference in this turntable over some cool retro setup! Balance and setup is very straightforward and instructions are thorough. If you have ever seen a really beautiful gloss black piano, the finish of this turntable is exactly the same. Even comes with white gloves so you can do that white glove install.

Excellent sound. Great build quality!!!

Love the auto shut off. Easy to set up and great quality!

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.

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.