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

Suena espectacular

So....decided it was time to get my vinyl up and running. Had a Denon dp300 table + Onkyo nr777 receiver + Polk 65t towers. I just wasnt getting the sound I felt like I was expecting so, the chase began. Started with an Ortofon 2m blue cartridge....sounded pretty good but....then bought a Project S2 pre thinking the pre on the Denon probably wasnt that great still.....meh. I even bought directional RCA cables the were...mid high end. Had begun to look at new speakers. The Polks were very highly regarded when I bought them but felt like maybe something better. In the meantime, I bought a handful of remastered old favorite LPs and one evening I noticed that the needle on the Denon table was running across the label before returning. My wife and I had moved a couple years ago and the Denon did not have an arm lock. I took the cartridge head off before moving but, I started to wonder if the tonearm hadnt taken a beating during the move. so....started looking at tables....Project, Music hall etc....etc....One evening I stumbled across the RT85 so I began to look into it. I liked the autostop feature for obvious reasons. The more reviews I read, the more I felt like I could take the chance on a,unknown to me company. Besides, they threw in a Ortofon 2m blue with it.....($300) cartidge. The unit arrived well packed. I am in my sixties so am very experienced on putting together and setting up turntables. Setting this thing up was a breeze...not sure why some folks have such a hard time. (I did need to align the cartridge a little bit but, the instructions come with a protractor so...no issue). Once I got it all leveled and hooked up, I pulled out the remastered Steely Dan Aja. More stereo systems were sold in the 70s by demoing Aja than any other....blah blah blah. Anyway....as soon as I dropped the needle, there was the sound I was looking for. Clear separation.....full eq with punchy low end without being rumbly (have a sub for that)...midrange was right their. No need for new speakers....the Polks were as advertised. Was glad I bought the Project preamp. Everything these days needs to be broken in. Ortofon says 40 hours plus on the blue needle....hell, the RCA cables recommended 100+ hours....sounded stellar first time so I expect my set up will just keep getting better. Bottom line....buy this table. For about $500 bucks you get a quality belt drive, auto shutoff (lots of music puts me to sleep), a nice acrylic platter and maybe the best, somewhat, lower priced end cartridge in the biz all wrapped in a gorgeous package. The sound quality is amazing. I am an ardent reader or Sound and Vision as well as Stereophile and guarantee you wont find a better quality turntable, with the features, anywhere close to this price.

Took me to get the arm correct, digit are difficult to read on the tone arm.

I bought this turntable to replace my vintage Technics SL-D2 which was working fine, but I was looking for something to enhance my vinyl listening experience and I was not disappointed. The Ortophon 2m Blue cartridge included with the Fluance RT85 provides so much more dynamic sound and air to LPs Ive listened to for years. The turntable itself works perfectly and I really appreciate the acrylic platter which eliminated the static I would get when placing or removing albums from the older turntable. The belt drive motor is silent and smooth. Well documented set up instructions had me listening to music in 20 minutes from opening the box. Well worth the money!

For the money and its looks this turntable knocks it out of the ballpark! I looked and studied this table for a year before I pulled the trigger and purchased it. My previous table is a Technics SL-1200 MK2 and it is in excellent condition. I mounted a Audiotechnica AT-120E on it, and after learning how to align the cartridge,adjust tracking weight and anti-skate along with the VTA and arm height I thought was sounding great! I thought of ordering the 2M Blue and putting it on the technics table for an upgrade. Once I received the Fluance table and set it up I was blown away by its sound! I was hearing things I hadnt heard before on my 1st table. The sound and seperation was truly amazing. It caused me to go on a vinyl spending spree that Im still on! My lps I purchased in the 70s and 80s sound amazing along with the newer 180 gram albums Im collecting. Just wish I purchased the table sooner!

This turntable has met and exceeded my expectations. I am not a complete audiofile like some people I know. Setting it was a bit tricky. I did order the tonearm gram meter to get it dialed in. So that was something I should have done at the time I ordered this. The packaging was great. Delivered day early. My friends who do know equipment said it was a great turntable for the money. And I probably will upgrade the cartridge eventually. I did purchase the record cleaner and that has made a world of difference on the sound. Highly recommend.

Great mid level turntable. Easy to setup and use. Good quality sound from a reasonably priced product.

Wow, wow, wow. I should have made the leap year ago! Fluance RT85 with Ortofon Blue cartridge is a fantastic value, fabulous sound and great quality for the price. Would recommend anyone on the fence like I was is to make the leap. You will not be disappointed!

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...

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