Review Details

RT85W Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable - Left Main

Average Customer Rating:

Rating:
98 % of 100

RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Rating
Overall Performance
80%

Product Review (submitted on April 13, 2022):

I came home one day to see my Project RPM 1 Carbon laying face down on the ground. The cat was kind enough to get on my turntable stand and push it off the edge, at least that's the theory.I spent more time and effort plus more money than I should to try and salvage the damage. Eventually, common sense prevailed and it was time to find a successor to a table I'vebeen very happy with. I really wanted to spend more money, but decided to try the Fluance RT85 as the reviews are very favorable.I bought my Fluance in white and was really hoping to get one with the Nagaoka cartridge, as it's great value in the budget needles, but it's been out of stock, so I settled for the Ortofon Blue.Let's start with the initial setup. That was a breeze. Fluance gave clear and concise instructions, and everything was packaged well. A novice should be up and running in twenty minutes.Once set up, I placed my first vinyl on the turntable. I was met with shrill highs and a wide and open soundstage with the Ortofon Blue. Holy cow, that cartridge just promotes ear fatigue. If I were to map it, I'd say it's reproduction is a 9/10 on bass a 9/10 within the mids and a 12/10 on highs. Talk about biased on cymbals, and high range singers. This cartridge is tough to enjoy. And I tired to enjoy it. But, not only is it shrill, it intentionally seeks out every static pop and imperfection in my vinyl collection.After a few days, I was trolling the Fluance site and impulsively purchase a second headshell. I thought, "what if I yanked the my old Denon DL-110 from my Project turntable and stuck the cartridge on the Fluance?" A few days later, the package arrived, and now I'm writing a review!!!One dislike is that the motor is slow to start and squeaks while it's starting up. Once you get past that, it is fine, and I've had no issues with speed control.And dropping the Denon cartridge on this turntable really made it exciting to listen to. My old Project had a light tonearm and the Fluance has a nice medium mass tonearm. Compliance wise, we have a better match between the Denon cartridge and the Fluance tonearm. And, wow, does it show! My soundstage immediately improved. The highs are perfect, bass is tight and fast, with a nice well balanced sound. The only thing I'd complement the Ortofon on is the openness of the soundstage and the mid range was perfect. The Denon can get slightly muddy on metal, especially death metal with shredding guitar and blast beats. But going into anything acoustical or jazz and rock, I'm very thankful to have the Denon on this thing.Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. I wish Fluance had more customization. I almost ignored them over the lack of cartridges. If they had the ability to select different options, like a Sumiko Olympia, Nagaoka MP-150, and a couple moving coil carts like the Audio Technica ATOC9XEN or Denon DL-103, I'd have ordered one sooner. Thankfully, I did grab this turntable and with the addition of the Denon DL-110, I think this setup will be atom around for a while. I'm really thankful I didn't spend more money and came here. For the most part, the Fluance RT85 is a great all around turntable. And if I'd ordered the one with the Nagaoka MP-110 I'd probably be very happy as is. However, I'm glad to have the Denon cartridge on mine and my vinyl is seeing more action than it has in a long time!

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