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

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.

Like style, quiet running. Wish it was a little more automated, but knew that going in. The cartridge puts out great sound with quality. Easy to assemble.

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.

Just got back from a business trip and this was waiting for me to set up. I was excited to listen to some old records that have been in storage for years. It took a little while to set up and everything was packaged well, instructions were clear, no complaints. I got it all set, put a record on and turned the switch to 33. Nothing. The light was on but the motor didn’t work. I started the return process and now not only do I have to repack everything, I have to wait two weeks for a replacement. I’m not real happy about that. I may update this later depending on how they resolve it.

I spent way too much time researching a replacement for a 15 year old Stanton direct drive that honestly didnt sound terrible. I just developed a brief obsession and relentlessly poured through reviews and audiophile forums, bouncing from vintage Denon, Kenwood, Pioneer and Dual to new models from Audio Technica, U-Turn, Fluance, Rega and Pro-Ject. The vintage tables felt like the natural choice, but they either needed too much love or they had been restored and were priced a bit beyond what I wanted to spend. I decided to focus on new tables and lower my budget to $300. The Rega Planar 1 and Pro-Ject Debut were then eliminated. Both seemed like decent options, although they werent without flaw and if Im buying a Rega I want to go all in, glass platter and everything. Audio Technica couldnt match what U-Turn and Fluance offer for $300 in terms of platter, cartridge, motor and aesthetics. The final decision came down to the Fluance RT82 and U-Turn Orbit Plus. If youre looking for a new turntable around $300 these should be the only two that youre considering. With the Orbit you can have an acrylic platter and an Ortofon 0M5E cartridge. Theyre assembled in the US by a small company and I appreciate that. Fluance RT82 comes with a slightly better cartridge and an arguably worse aluminum platter. Where it surpasses the Orbit, in my opinion, is in the cue lever, auto stop, S-shaped tone arm, removable headshell (easier to change cartridges), 33/45 rpm knob and lower wow/flutter %. I have had it for around a week and have probably listened to about 40 hours of music. At first I wasnt thoroughly impressed and I read there might be a break-in period for the stylus. It sounds amazing now and I am completely happy with my purchase.

Coming from an old $100 turntable, I was surprised at the sound in a great way. Clean looking, easy installation with patience. The box arrived a bit worse for wear but everything looked good inside. I ran through the instructions to setup the needle, counter balance and vibration resistant feet. One key thing you will need a preamp if your Reciever doesnt have one.

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.

Overall top notch especially for the money. Replaceable headshell was a must, really hard to find. Change the character of its sound in a few minutes with a headshell/cartridge swap.

Beautiful turntable (Bamboo finish is amazing) that sounds as great as it looks. This turntable makes my Technics SL-D1 sound like something from Crosley. Full, warm sound that sparkles with high end. Listening to albums is so awesome. There is no equal for enjoying music. Plus listening to a complete album for which they were made is so nice in a world that barely plays a song before the artist isn’t even heard of again. Hendrix, Bowie, Beatles, Burning Spear, Hank Williams, Stravinsky.....what’s next?

First the good. The sound quality is excellent and set up was a breeze. The sound is good with the included cartridge ortofon om 10 cartridge but I already had an ortofon 2m red from a previous turntable. Much better sound with the 2m red. The bad. When I got the turntable the curing lever was loose and the curing would not go all the way down. Tightened the screw enough so it would lower enough to allow the stylus to drop all the was down. After just a little over a month the curing lever doesnt work at all. Not worth trying to pack it up and send it back for service as the curing lever is not a deal breaker for me. I play albums all the way through not picking and choosing tracks. For others it might be a deal breaker so check it first so you are,still in Amazons return window. Hopefully this is a one off and not a quality control problem as the sound is great.