Fluance RT85 Turntable with Ortofon Cartridge, Acrylic Platter, Speed Control, and Vibration Isolation - Walnut

If you are looking at these reviews and you have the Fluance RT81 or similar, and you are wondering if this upgrade would be worth it, the answer is 100%.I upgraded to this record player from the RT81 because I have the Fluance Ai81 Floor Standing Speakers and the Phono pre-amp.We had the RT81 for exactly a year before this upgrade. The RT 81 was our first record player, so when we originally ordered it, we were not sure how much we would use it, so we didn't want to dive in, seeing how we didn't have an existing record collection.I won a contest at work which I received a big Amazon Gift Card, which is the reason we upgraded our bookshelf speakers to the Ai81 floor-standing speakers. The price point of the speakers was not something I could bite the bullet to justify, but seeing how I earned the gift card, I was willing to spend it on something I would not usually buy for myself.The speakers and the phono amp immediately improved the sound quality we were getting from the RT81, and I was extremely pleased with the results, so much that I would have been more than willing to pay the money had I experienced these beforehand.With that being said, although we were pleased with the sound/performance of our setup, there was always that lingering thought of what this sound would be like if we had the RT85? Again, the same issue came from not being willing to pay the price with my own money.Luckily, I won the same contest that I had won last year with an Amazon Gift Card, so finally, it was the perfect time to pull the trigger and add the RT85 to the system to see what it could really do.I have about 50 hours of playing the record player since it arrived 4 days ago, and I can honestly say I am shocked and stunned by the difference in everything. The improvement is not minor... Everything is a huge improvement and has enhanced our listening enjoyment in our household.We have over 50+ records since starting our collection last year, and on every song we have listened to, there are sounds we have never heard before, lyrics we never quite caught before, sounds coming from places that were not coming out of the speakers using the RT81. Which has made every album exciting and enjoyable to listen to, again.Everything from the voices to the instruments is night and day clearer.The spatial difference is quite crazy. With the RT81, I thought it was doing what it was expected and supposed to do as a vinyl record player, but it wasn't until using the RT85 that I saw what is said when it comes to "spacing" out sounds. Something that was coming from "expected" spots of the speakers with the RT81 is now floating in the atmosphere of the room, which is really beautiful.Something else that is improved is the sound that you would get from the speakers, which, before, I assumed happened to be due to the quality of the vinyl record itself. Such as static, popping, and slight audio issues, etc., were all solved with the RT85. We would get a lot of extra "sounds" and just chalked it up as "this comes with listening to vinyl", which is now COMPLETELY gone!I will say if you are on the fence or not sure, allow my review to help you make the solid decision of pulling the trigger.Looking back on it now, just like my experience with the speakers... Had I known the quality difference, I would have happily paid my own money to make this upgrade.Not only I, but my wife, who was also questioning just how much of a difference the RT85 would be from the RT81, is so shocked that she agrees she would have been open to buying the RT85, which is a lot coming from her.If you are looking to begin your Vinyl Record Player journey and you are thinking about the RT85, I would recommend doing it as you are going to either end up upgrading all the parts that it ends up being the RT 85, or doing what I just did, and upgrade the entire player sooner rather than later.

I bought this to replace an Audio Technica LP-120X USB. That turntable was upgraded with an acrylic platter mat instead of the rubber that came with it. I had also replaced the cartridge with an AT VM540ML/H. This is a definite upgrade from the cartridge that came on that turntable. Because I have that cartridge, I decided to buy the RT85 with the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. I think the Nagaoka MP-110 is probably similar to the VM540.The RT85 came quickly and surprisingly was only single boxed. But the contents were very well protected inside. Setup was like most other turntables. This table is smaller than the AT it is replacing but the bamboo veneer gives it a much better appearance. The acrylic platter gets a 10 vs the aluminum platter on the AT. The tonearm, headshell and cueing lever are similar to the AT. However, the tonearm weight has a scale that is almost impossible to read without the assistance of a bright light and maybe even some magnification. The anti skate dial is only slightly easier to read. The AT is much easier to read. Fluance, this needs to be improved. Maybe my eyes failed me when setting the tracking force, but it was off by about 0.2 when I checked it with my scale which was calibrated (1.6g vs 1.8g). Also, I've seen some reviews where people said the speed knob was cheap. It feels fine to me. I do like the on/off knob and start button feature on my AT LP-120 better. But the Fluance is still good. Also, the AT turntable it is replacing has an indentation for storing the 45rpm adapter and place that actually holds a second cartridge. I don't have any 45s, so that doesn't really matter to me, but the cartridge holder is a nice feature on my other turntable.Once it was setup, I grabbed a Pink Floyd album (what else). I played Shine On You Crazy Diamond. It sounded really good and I have to say, I think there may be a little more bass coming from this cartridge setup vs the AT VM540. But I'll need to do some A/B comparisons. Also, a light finger tap on the right side of this turntable is quieter that when tapping the plastic right side of the AT. The same is true when tapping the top of the plinth and much quieter when tapping the left side. Also, the cueing lever is damped much better than the AT. It will just dump the arm onto the record and this one is nice and slow. For reference, the speakers are Q Acoustics 3050 towers and the power comes from a 1990 Denon DRA 1025 (125wpc) which I bought new for $999. I also have a set of Wharfedale Lintons coming later this week and I'm looking so forward to getting them going.So, this is a $500 turntable out of the box. My AT LP-120X with the upgrades (acrylic mat and AT VM540 cartridge/headshell) is now at $650 or maybe more. I can easily change over to the AT VM540 if I want and I don't know of any upgrades I could make to this table. So, it is a better buy. The veneered MDF is prettier and quieter than the black plastic AT LP-120X. The professional reviewers all over the internet and YouTube are correct about this table. I also considered a couple of Dual turntables, Thorens and even a Technics ranging from $599 up to about $1,100. I'm sure the Technics is probably a much better table than this RT85 but Dual is just not the same company it was in the 70s and early 80s. They are no longer made in Germany. I have about 120 vinyl records, maybe a few more and have about 500 CDs. So, I decided that the RT85 is right where I need to be.