Review Details

RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on February 23, 2022):

The RT85 is the best turntable I have ever owned. It sounds fantastic! The Ortofon Blue cartridge and stylus are superb. I spent an extra hundred and bought an Ortofon Red stylus that is interchangeable with the Blue. I wanted something to use on records that are not in the best condition without ruining my Blue, which is around $200 to replace.The unit does not have a built-in preamplifier and so if you are considering buying one that may be a deal killer unless your amplifier or receiver has a preamplifier. It also does not have an automatic return feature, which would have made it even more awesome but not a deal breaker for me. It does have a switch on the back that allows you to turn on an auto stop feature to keep the stylus from going around endlessly but I found it takes around ten rotations before it stops. By that time I am up and turning over the record.It tracks at only 1.8g but you could go as light as 1.5. I prefer to stay with the recommend weight.I found the unit easy to set up right out of the box with very little to put together. It took maybe twenty minutes. The cartridge was already perfectly aligned by the factory and that is a fantastic perk because doing so can be a pain for those of us not too good with small detailed adjustments.The turntable is very very quiet. I hear no noise from the platter whatsoever. The acrylic platter is heavy enough to give good stability.If you are thinking of a turntable in or around this price range I doubt you could get better performance for under $1000 that is this quality. I have owned many turntables in my lifetime and this is a winner. I'm sure the models under the RT85 are very good machines as well but I think it would be worth saving your money a little longer to save upgrading later and spending more money. You probably wouldn't need to buy another turntable for many years to come.