Review Details

RT83 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on September 14, 2020):

I bought the RT-83 about 8 months ago. The first unit I received had what I would consider excessive platter wobble. After going back and forth with their customer service department about the issue, they sent me a new unit at no extra cost. The platter wobble is far less noticeable on the replacement unit, so there's obviously some variance in the tolerance at the factory where they are built.This is my first turntable purchase and so I have a limited perspective regarding how it sounds compared to other units of similar cost. What I will say is that it has worked flawlessly since I bought it and sounds good to my ears through my Yamaha Aventage series integrated amp. I think a lot of the credit for that goes to the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. Though not the best cartridge you can buy, it delivers accurate sound with good low, mid, and high end frequency reproduction. Depending on the pressing, you get a room-filling sense of space and volume that's missing from the more compressed sound inherent in MP3's and digital streaming services like Spotify. It has made me a believer in the superiority of vinyl, but again: that's highly dependent on the quality of the pressing.Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and it's nice to know that I can upgrade the platter and cartridge if I so choose to in the future. The only thing that I would improve on is the tone arm assembly. Though the arm itself is metal, the assembly is made of plastic and feels a bit cheap. Still, I would recommend this unit to anyone looking to get into vinyl without breaking the bank. Note: make sure you buy a decent gauge to dial in the downforce of the stylus. Makes all the difference when set right and will save unnecessary wear on your records.