Review Details

RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on March 19, 2021):

Well, I am going to start this review off differently. Most of you have probably already read many glowing reviews on the RT-85 Turntable submitted by the hundreds of fans. I will also write a quick review of the turntable itself in a bit, but let me start off a bit differently and discuss the company and their service.

I received my turntable a couple weeks back and was so excited to unbox it and get it going. When I unboxed it, I noticed a small very light (hardly noticeable) 6” scratch on the dust cover. Other than that, the turntable was in perfect condition. I contacted Fluance via their website and told them about the scratch and sent pictures. Within one day, they contacted me back and offered to give me a 5% discount to make up for the problem. I explained to them that I appreciated the offer, but I was not looking for money and how the scratch, although it was so small, bothered me. I explained to them that I knew it sounds petty, but that I had just gotten a NEW, beautiful and fantastic TT, but the scratch just drove me nuts.

They LISTENED….. and within 10 days or so, they sent me a brand-new dust cover. Now, I don’t know about you but being in sales most of my life, you can’t beat service like that. Most companies today have lost all sense of fairness and service. But not Fluance. Any company that will take care of their customers like they took care of me is a company that I want to do business with, recommend to others, and will continue to do business with. Excellent and Thank You Fluance!!

Now for the review:
I have had a few TT’s in my life, most notable was the Technics 1200. As life goes, I got rid of it and most of my record collection during the 90’s. The last year with having to be locked-up all the time with Covid, I decided to get back into music. I got a cheap beginner’s Sony TT and started collecting so of my old favorite records. Within 6 mouths I was enjoying the return to vinyl so much, I decided to get a new TT, did my research and settled on Fluance RT-85. I ordered my RT-85 a few weeks after Christmas and had to weight about 4 weeks to get it in. I guess the holiday sales and Covid had them backed up. Was it ever worth the wait!!

The RT-85 comes well boxed. There was no visible damage on the outside of the box. When unboxed, all the parts were there and setup was more than simple. The TT is just beautiful and I highly recommend the RT-85 for not only the Ortofon Blue cartridge, but also the acrylic platter. If nothing else, the acrylic platter really enhances the look and feel of the turntable. Anyway, I used the online video for setup which is quite useful and makes it simple. I balanced the tonearm/cartridges, installed the weight and set it at the required weight. I then checked the weight with a separate arm load meter and it was spot on. I also checked headshell alignment and it too was spot on. Fluance couldn’t have made the whole process easier. Be sure and use the provided white gloves because the high gloss finish will readily show fingerprints.

When I turned it on, it is absolutely deadly quite with no auditable HUM what-so-ever, like I had in the Sony. Hooked up the Sony TT also and compared the two. The sound is incredible from the RT-85. You get higher highs and lower lows, better separation and distinct, crisp sounds, and it presents a bigger stage. I couldn’t be happier.

My only negative if you could call it one is the wall-wart plug. I would have preferred a standard plug with the transformer inside the TT itself. But that is me just being picky to come up with a con. We got a jillion wall-warts on everything these days.

In Summary, I know you can’t get a better turntable for the price out there today. It is every bit as good if not better than the Technics I had back in the day and 1000% easier to set up. It does all that I need in a TT to do and does it outstandingly. That combined with the impeccable service I got from Fluance, makes this purchase and company a hands down winner in my mind. It really is a no-brainer. Just do it.

And by the way, as soon as my daughter heard it, she was so impressed that she wants one too! Looks like I have a second Fluance TT to buy before Christmas this year.