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

This does a lot of things great. Great instructions, comprehensive packaging, sounds great in the best case scenario. However, they went cheap on the stylus. Once u get to the last one or two songs on the record, it struggles mightily on tracking - including new records. The stylus is cleaned regularly and routinely underperforms on the last couple songs resulting in heavy distortion. This would be a 5 star product if they instead included the OM20. You’re better off getting a $100 turntable with a $200 stylus.

Easy to setup and sounds great right out of the box, great value for the money. Auto stop feature is not exactly what I thought. I could also not figure out how to get the leveling feet to work yet but turntable is level so it doesnt really matter and the stabilizing feet pads also work great. I read some reviews on the OM 10 needing a break in period, not sure about that, because it sounds just fine on the first play.

heavy and solid, runs smooth and quiet.

Just received the RT-82 and I feel like a kid in a candy store. When cds hit the market in the 80s I moved away from my LPs, but with the renewed interest in LPs and turntables the last few years I have been considering jumping back in. I didnt want to go cheap, but on the other hand the Pro-ject and Rega models i was considering were at the top end of what I wanted to spend, but they are totally manual, and I wanted auto-return. I came across some reviews of Fluance and suddenly I realized that I had found what Ive been looking for. The RT 82-85 are all the same base turntable, but as you move up you get better cartridges and a heavier platter, but I went for the 82 for only, $300, knowing I can upgrade in the future. Its solid and heavy...I didnt want a light, plastic tt, and I had heard the pro-ject was lightweight. It took 30 minutes to set-up...pay close attention to the instructions for balancing the tone arm...but when I lowered the stylus onto the record it played perfectly the first time. And, though it doesnt have full auto return, the platter stops turning at the end of the record, so I dont have to worry about it continuing if I had something take me away. And although the sound is first rate, I wanted something aesthetically pleasing, and this is a beautiful, minimalist design. The piano black finish is gorgeous, and it perfectly matches my Peachtree amp. Bravo Fluance for a brilliant design!

Purchased Used - As New condition, seller was Fluance - the manufacturer. As far as I could tell the only indication that it was used was an external marking on the shipping box, RT82XOP. It was truly as new with a substantial discount in price. Easy to set up once I figured out the gram scale on the counterweight just spins but doesnt move towards the front or away; you get the tonearm balanced twisting the bulk of the counterweight, spin the number to zero on the gram scale then spin the counterweight to set tracking force (not the spinning scale ). When all else fails, RT*M. ; -) This replaces an ancient Thorens TD150 Mk II w/ an AudioTechnica tonearm that was extremely noisy. I have not used the supplied Ortofon OM10 cartridge yet but rather immediately installed a Supex MM100 w/ an SMM-38E stylus already mounted in an extremely lightweight Sumiko headshell. The remainder of the setup was a piece of cake. Took about ten minutes unboxing/unwrapping, then about 15 minutes more getting it leveled, connected to the amp, and rechecked. The amp it is connected to is a Yamaha AX-592 with built-in switchable phono pre-amp (Moving Magnet/Moving Coil) so I did not need an add-on phono pre-amp. The aluminum platter is not very heavy - I will purchase the acrylic platter separately soon. Right out the box I played the Gary Burton & Chick Corea LP, Crystal Silence (ECM 1024 ST). Gary Burtons vibes are a good test of wow and flutter and I was pleased. Suspect the heavier acrylic platter will be even better. Tracks well - no skips on some LPs that are well over 50 years old. It was a pain playing LPs on the old noisy turntable - now I have to decide which of the several hundred LPs get promoted from the basement to the den.

Fluance makes very good quality items

I’m just getting into vinyl and didn’t want to spend top dollar, but didn’t want a cheap turntable with Bluetooth. I found the RT82 and pulled the trigger because of its price point and the ability to upgrade cartridges down the road. I’ve only got a couple hours of listening in and I’m loving it.

Dead easy to set up and the quality is exceptional for the price. I had an Ortofon Red kicking about and it took the sound to the next level. Highly recommend TT with easy upgrade if you want to improve your listening. Buy It

Noticeable upgrade from the RT81 model. Bamboo looks sleek. My setup uses a bellari preamp, Sony receiver, and passive Sony bookshelf speakers. Recommend adding in a record weight for stability and added audio improvement. Make sure to grab a vinyl record cleaning kit. The Ortofon stylus on this turntable is great at picking up the slightest amount of dust on a record.

Great player for the money. Most people will have no problem with the little bit of assembly and setup required. It isnt 100% plug and play so I gave it 4 stars in the for beginners category but its by no means difficult. If you can hook up a component system you wont have any trouble with it. Ive never owned a higher end table so I cant compare but I have owned the more expensive Crosley turntable and that one wasnt nearly as good as the Fluance. If youre upgrading from an all in one suitcase style record player its a night and day difference. If you have no interest in future upgrades get the RT80 or RT81. If you want value with the ability to upgrade later get the RT82 or higher. Im sure the high end tables are better but I definitely think this one is at the point of diminishing return where youre not getting much more by spending a lot more money.