Fluance RT82 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge, Speed Control Motor, High Mass MDF Wood Plinth, Vibration Isolation Feet - Walnut

I get that this is an entry-level turntable. It is the first new turntable I have bought in over a decade, and I was cautious, and did what I thought was an adequate amount of research. But I am extremely disappointed. I spent a long time setting this up, and was especially careful adjusting the tonearm weight - too often I have heard people complain about the sound of their LP player when it just turns out that their setup was faulty. The first night that I tried out the RT82, I was amazed: the motor hum, which I admittedly read was loud on this model, was not loud; it was obscene. Any music with soft passages was more or less unlistenable, unless I wanted to crank my receiver and belt out every record I play. As tempting as that is, its not the best long-term solution. I wanted to give the turntable the benefit of the doubt. This could easily have been a mistake of my own. I re-checked the assembly, and for the umpteenth time used a level to check the shelf that has housed with no similar issues my past record players. Nothing was off-kilter, everything looked good. The motor continued to scream. Dismayed, I walked away from it, and decided to get online and look for suggestions on how to handle this before simply packing it up and returning it. About an hour later, I decided to give it one more try, and sure enough, the motor had quieted down. I could still hear a light buzz, but it was far less egregious than it had been. Fine. While I was not about to throw away the box it came in, I chalked up the initial motor shriek to the table needing to be broken in. For a few weeks, thats exactly what I did. Eventually, the motor grew loud again. I dug in and looked up articles about some things I could do to combat the noise, and once again I re-checked my assembly of the turntable as well as the shelf on which the table was placed. This was all within the first month of owning the RT82. And it was within the first month that the speed issues began. Less than a minute into the start of an LP, the sound would begin to crackle and the rotation speed would slow to a crawl. So now Im legitimately frustrated. I have owned several older belt-drive turntables, and when this issue comes up, my first inclination is to check for a worn-out belt. But...a worn-out belt on a turntable that is less than a month old? Could the belt-twisting elves have snuck in during the night and twisted the belt around the platter? No, the belt looks fine. My next step is to check the motor pulley cap and make sure the alignment is secure. Check. Now I lift the tonearm and the motor doesnt even start. Oh wait, it just started. Oh wait, now its slowing to a crawl. Now it stopped. Ok, check the tonearm again. Maybe the counterweight is somehow no longer locked in place. No, the tonearm is fine. Maybe the.....ok, what is happening right now? Look, I understand what I did wrong. I read the bad reviews and the good reviews, saw that the good outnumbered the bad, and decided to gamble. I rolled the dice and lost. I could take it to be serviced by someone who knows what theyre doing, but really, why throw more money at it? I realized that I could either return it, or try to pop it open and look at the motor myself. Of course, then I would be left with a turntable that I may never trust to function properly without a monthly tune-up, which seems ridiculous. And, as Im sure I have made clear in this review, Im no technician. But I can pack a box, which is what I decided to do. Overall, I am very disappointed. The loud motor is one thing, there are a few tricks that you can find online to try to get that worked out (I cannot attest to these because I did not get to the point of trying them) but the speed issues, which have been documented in RT model reviews by other repentant customers, are a whole other matter. And the fact that it stopped working after a month is unacceptable. On Amazon, when I chose the option to return it, I was contacted immediately and they were very easy to deal with. The rep asked if I wanted him to contact Fluance to inquire about replacing it, but, as much as I wanted this to work out, I will very likely buy something else. I guess the timing of this thing sputtering to a complete stop worked out, since it happened within the return window. My protection plan, after a quick and friendly phone call, was also refunded almost in its entirety, so all told (so far), it could be worse. If you absolutely intend to buy this model, there are some good things about it. I can definitely say that its nice-looking. The instructions for assembly are easy to follow. Its also...I dont know, packed well? Im struggling here. It stopped working after a month. Did I mention its nice-looking? I cannot recommend the RT82. I certainly cannot recommend buying one without a protection plan. Based on the reviews, it seems that there is a good chance that you will get one that works. I did not. And I am sorry I bought it.

Very pleased

Great sounding record player! Easy to set up. I had to watch a YouTube video about arm and counter weight setup. Great value for the price. Glad I made the purchase. This, and some fluance speakers and a preamp and your set!

First off, Ive wanted desperately to love Fluance. Really. Ive tried to. I scraped together (and sold some stuff) so I could have a decent turntable. I studied up on dozens of different tables but this one continued to come up as the best bang for the buck. So I finally ordered it. When it arrived I set it all up and started it in. But the wow and flutter were out of control. I boxed it up and sent it back for a replacement and the people in customer service were great. This was in August. I got the new one, set it up and have enjoyed it. I bought some AI60s to match and have had all sorts of issues with them and the customer service was weeks at a time in responding. I decided to just eat the cost and enjoy them for what they are. One day Ill sell them and get something I like. By the time anyone actually responded my trial period was done anyway. So that sucks. Now my turntable is having issues with 45RPM. If the autostop is on, it slows WAY down the last 3 or 4 seconds. There are a few 45s it DOESNT do this on but it does it on most. It does NOT do this when the autostop is off. I bought this because it had an autostop feature. So there is obviously something defective on it. But, even after sending a video of the exact same record showing that it slows down on one setting and not the other they responded that it was an issue with my records. Seriously. This was well after a week of sending the email. I realize we are in a pandemic and things are slowed down a bit but this was an issue I had in January so thats not the problem. The problem is they dont care. And their products are amazing until they are not. And then you wont get any help. So, even though Ive given them multiple chances (and hundreds of dollars...dammit why didnt I go for Technics and Klipsch????!!!) Ill write these guys off for good. Unfortunately Im stuck since I cant afford to replace all this stuff :(

Set up was easy. Instructions were clear and detailed. While playing the first record I was thinking I should have upgraded to the 2M Red stylus but after reading some forum posts about styli needing 10 to 50 hours of break-in time Ive put about 15 hours on this and it seems much more detailed. Im playing this through a 1974 Kenwood amp that Ive never had serviced so after I take it in for a checkup Im sure Ill get more listening pleasure from the new RT82. I would definitely recommend this to anyone not wanting to spend a fortune to listen to good quality sound.

I don’t know to much about turn tables but I went for this one after reading up on it and it’s in the mid range price wise but most importantly the quality and the look are superb. I assembled the few pieces with ease. I had help balancing the arm though which really wasn’t hard just a bit intimidating to a beginner. I have played a few very old albums that have proven that this turntable has proven to be the best for the price for a beginner album enthusiast.

I chose this turntable to replace a failing Technics model from the 70s, and am quite happy with the purchase. My only complaint would be that the cueing arm is a bit jumpy, and thus requires a slow hand to keep the needle position in place.

First turntable purchase after extensive research and reading reviews. Very pleased with what I received for the price. I forgot how much I love the sound of vinyl records. This is already creating awesome memories with family and excellent to vibe out alone in the dark to your favorite records.

Got it in piano black and its a beautiful piece of audio technology. It was easy to assemble and set up and the sound is first rate. Cant wait to upgrade to acrylic platter and upscale cartridge.

This is a nice turntable that delivers great sound and was easy to put together.