FluanceRT85 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

I’ve had the Fluance RT85 now for a week, I went for the piano black one. I wanted something to upgrade and replace my very old (1981) Technics SLB-210 that works fine and sounds OK. I liked the look of the specs for the Fluance RT85, the simplicity and raw features seem to offer a lot for the money when compared to many others that seemed to come with all the snake oil I didn’t want! But it wasn’t available in the UK so I was looking at a few options including the, Sony PSHX 500, the Project Classics and Debut Carbon, and the Technics SL1500B. I’d decided that if the RT85 became available I’d go for that, otherwise I’d step up to the Technics SL1500B in April but consider upgrading the stylus to the Ortofon 2M Blue (as on the RT85).Packaging and unboxing: The product box arrived within a larger Amazon box with a good amount of packing material. Product box showed no signs of any transportation damage and was confirmed while unboxing the turntable. Everything in the box was there and well packed and protected in perfect condition. As others have noted the inclusion of a pair of cotton gloves is a nice thought.Assembly: Set-up instructions are very clear and simple to follow but I did have trouble following the instructions for the tone arm balancing. Balancing the tone arm was the most time consuming bit, I fiddled and tried to do it for a while following the instructions but just couldn’t get it right. Fortunately, I’d also ordered a Stylus Force Scale so as soon as I made use of that the balancing was done and set to the recommended 1.8g in no time. The included phono leads seem to be a decent quality and they are shorter than the Cambridge ones I was intending to use so I used those into my Project Phono Box USB V. The turntable sits high on its three legs, well feet, and it’s nice and stable. I didn’t even need to make any adjustments to level it, popped the supplied mini bubble level on the deck and it was already spot on!Play and Sound: Well it’s a step-up in the gramophone stakes, makes me think of an old “Not the Nine O’Clock News” sketch so I might be heading to upgrade my speakers and amp et-up too. No sign of any vibrations getting through to the tone arm and pick-up from the motor or bits of kit in the rack. The old Technics did introduce some motor noise and a bit of artefact on the left channel into the mix that were evident when recording using Audacity. Neither are evident with the Fluance, no addition of anything that’s not on the vinyl, the sprung feet, MDF, acrylic platter, and external power source all doing their job well. The dusk cover doesn’t have soft close but it’s not problem to close it gently while the tonearm drops slowly onto the vinyl which is so gentle you’ll only notice it has actually made any contact when the music starts. Keep a hold of the dust cover when opening it though, it will want spring open if you don’t. When the music does start you will not be disappointed, it’s clear and clean and I’m hearing little details I’ve not heard before. It handles all the vinyl I’ve thrown it’s way so far, and it’s been fed a variety, even my very old and well payed Tubular Bells which has lots of clicks and crackles seemed to actually play better on the Fluance, perhaps the Blue doesn’t pick up as much of the surface noise. I can’t detect any issues across the range, it seems very precise from the highs to the base, percussion on the Police LPs sounds really precise and sharp. I’ve got this really annoying whisper in my head though… Turn me up…. Turn me up… it’s so tempting but I don’t think the neighbours will appreciate it too much! Although next up might be ELO and Out of the Blue so that could all change, no one could have an issue with that. At the end of the record the auto stop feature is nice, occasionally it’s stopped the turntable before I’ve got to it. All my vinyl gets a good rub down with a velvet brush before dropping the tone arm. The dive motor does seem to have less grunt than my old Technics (which is probably comparable to the torque of a Land Rover Defender given that it’s ripped the brush from my hand more than once!), it’s not going to pull the brush from your fingers and slows to a stop if you apply too much pressure. As I tend to just let the brush rest with very light pressure to hold it in place, I don’t think this is going to be an issue for me.Overall: The Fluance is a very good package and I believe offers very good value for money in terms of components/features and performance. It does have some small deficiencies; the dustcover hinges could be better with a softer close action and not spring open as you lift the cover up, the drive motor could have a bit more torque, and the queuing arm could be a bit longer and substantial. However, for me these are very minor things and don’t detract from the actual music experience. If I was going to buy again, would I buy the Fluance RT85? Yes I would. By the way yes ELO’s Out of the Blue (1977 original) did play very well and did get turned up! Next up Queen Live Killers or Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon.

I bought a Audio Technica AT60 a few years ago so I could listen to my old vinyl albums from the 70's & 80's and it was ok at the time and suited my budget as I had to buy an amplifier and speakers at the same time. For the last year or so I'd been looking for an upgrade having read various reports on how much better something like a Rega Planer, CS Dual or Pro-Ject was than the turntable I had.After doing a lot of research and changing my mind several times I settled on the Fluance RT series. Initially I was a bit worried as all of this manufacturers competitors are readily available from UK retailers whilst Fluance are only available either direct from the manufacturer in Canada (shipping, VAT & import costs!!!) or Amazon - but the reviews kept saying Fluance. I was going to save up and settle for the RT84 as the RT85 was out of my budget and the only major difference between the two models is the turntable platter, they both have the all important 2M Blue cartridge at a price Pro-Ject couldn't match. I'm no "audiophile" but all the reviews I read recommended the 2M Blue over the 2M Red cartridge if it was within the budget. I was extremely lucky to get a Fluance RT85 on Amazon's Prime deal for less than an RT84 would have cost me.The turntable arrives well packed and is easy to put together - the only slightly difficult bit is the tight fitting dust cover for the drivebelt motor.All I can say is this turntable produces simply stunning sounds. I'm hearing instruments, sounds and tones I've never heard before on albums I've had for 40+ years. It's like hearing my record collection for the first time. The stylus takes about 20-30hrs playing time to "run in" and gets better as it plays. The base is solid, the acrylic platter heavy, I've read reports where people have moaned about the finish of the colour on the MDF - mine is Piano white and looks brilliant - but it's the sound that is important and if this thing looked like a lump of rough wood I'd still have it. I got it at a bargain price but if you asked me is it worth the normal retail price (£499.00) the answer is yes, just buy it!