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 - Piano Black

It has been a mixed experience with this turntable. To start with the good, this turntable (TT) is beautiful and seems well-built. I purchased the bamboo version of the RT85 together with their preamp and active speakers directly from Fluance. The TT arived within 2 days and was easy to set up using the instructions and the setup video linked by Fluance. The sound experience was great using 30+ year old record, which seem to be thinner than newer records, which tend to be a little thicker and heavier. However, from the beginning, I had issues with the newer, thicker records; they started playing fine and after 5-10 minutes the sound quality dropped drastically. At first I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, then I believed that the cartridge needed to be broken in, and later I blamed it on a bad pressing of a record.

What a good looking turntable,easy set up and excellent performer.

A lot of research went into this.

I love the sound produced by this turntable. I upgraded to the Blue Ortofon 2M cartridge. I am using it with the Fosi Audio Box X4 Phono Preamp. My set up includes a Denon receiver and passive speakers. I am amazed by the warmth and beauty of the sound. I listen to all styles of music, but it is especially beautiful for classical and jazz. I am still in the break in period so I am looking forward to how it will sound in the near future. Turntable assembly was simple, but I did have to attempt the tonearm leveling several times until I got it right. For some reason, I had trouble following the instructions even though, in retrospect, they were very clear. Once I did, the sound was amazing. I followed the instructions which said to position the speakers away from the turntable and NOT on the same surface as the turntable. I cant emphasize enough how much difference this made. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Fast shipping, sounds GREAT. Worth the money

The RT85 is a very nice turntable. It is good value for the money, attractive to look at. I guess my hopes were higher for the sound Quality. I own a Shure M97xE cartridge on a old Technics turntable. It sounds very good, but I had read so much about the Ortofon 2M cartridge thinking it was going to blow that away. It didnt. Maybe the old cartridge is better than I thought.

Bought this as a gift for my partner, and she loves it! I love it, too!

Short answer: buy a cheap blank vinyl and test antiskate yourself, its cheap, easy, and a fun thing to say you know better than the average bear. Youll also be protecting your investment, even if it is by a small degree of wear and tear.

I have been wanting to purchase the RT85 for a while now but has not been in stock. When I finally saw it was available for purchase, I jumped on it! This turntable is a definite upgrade from my Audio Technica LP120. I really think the RT85 is a great bargain as well since it comes with the acrylic platter and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.

Could be a great turntable, I will never know. I only owned it for 30 days. When a friend visited and GENTLY set an album cover down on the acrylic cover I thought nothing of it. The cleaning lady arrived the next morning, and I watched her gently pull it off... Either the placement or removal of an album cover from the plastic left a bunch of scratches.Yes they are small and hard to see, but I have had 3 other quality turntables and even though I always clean with a microfiber towel and non ammonia cleaners, I have never seen anything like it. Rather than return the table and say something is wrong with it, I contacted the company to attempt to purchase or at least pay shipping for a replacement cover. They wanted $50 for another junk cover. This is their $500, 30 day old most expensive table. They should have offered some sort of help, but none was offered at all. I could have just returned it claiming a defect. Lesson learned about being honest. I boxed it up to sell used and will have nothing more to do with this typical Internet only company.