Review Details

RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on July 30, 2022):

At first I was very disappointed with the sound of the RT85 compared to my old Dual 506/Shure V15 Type 4 because the sound was very bright and thin in the mid-range. I finally found an article on brightness with the Ortofon Blue describing the problem and suggesting using a different cable to connect the turntable to the preamp: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ALHVUSC?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_detailsThe article explained that capacitance mismatch with the preamp can affect the frequency response. Much to my surprise this solved the problem and the RT85 is now much closer to the excellent quality of my 40 year old system (which I only replaced due to a variety of reliability problems, not sound quality).

UPDATED
I am updating my original review. I have since listened to a lot more material and even got a second preamp with capacitance control to try to try to further improve the sound. The Fluance with the Ortofon blue is still bright sounding compared to both my Shure V15 Type IV and compared to CDs of the same albums. The bright sound does give you more presence, but it can be harsh on cymbals etc. The turn table itself is quite good - the issue for me is the Ortofon Blue. I am using Martin Logan ESL speakers in a small carpeted room. I have both a solid state amp (Sound Artist SA-200IA) and a tube amp (Willsenton R8) I switch between as well as several preamps, and I find the same results pretty consistently. I can adjust out the brightness with tone control on the SA-200IA (the R8 does not have tone control), but this is never necessary except when I use the FT85. Clearly many other people are OK with the tone but these are my observations for you to consider.