Fluance RT82 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge, Speed Control Motor, High Mass MDF Wood Plinth, Vibration Isolation Feet - Walnut

Early stages of use but so far so good, great cust service dealing with setup question. Quality product.

I get that this is an entry-level turntable. It is the first new turntable I have bought in over a decade, and I was cautious, and did what I thought was an adequate amount of research. But I am extremely disappointed. I spent a long time setting this up, and was especially careful adjusting the tonearm weight - too often I have heard people complain about the sound of their LP player when it just turns out that their setup was faulty. The first night that I tried out the RT82, I was amazed: the motor hum, which I admittedly read was loud on this model, was not loud; it was obscene. Any music with soft passages was more or less unlistenable, unless I wanted to crank my receiver and belt out every record I play. As tempting as that is, its not the best long-term solution. I wanted to give the turntable the benefit of the doubt. This could easily have been a mistake of my own. I re-checked the assembly, and for the umpteenth time used a level to check the shelf that has housed with no similar issues my past record players. Nothing was off-kilter, everything looked good. The motor continued to scream. Dismayed, I walked away from it, and decided to get online and look for suggestions on how to handle this before simply packing it up and returning it. About an hour later, I decided to give it one more try, and sure enough, the motor had quieted down. I could still hear a light buzz, but it was far less egregious than it had been. Fine. While I was not about to throw away the box it came in, I chalked up the initial motor shriek to the table needing to be broken in. For a few weeks, thats exactly what I did. Eventually, the motor grew loud again. I dug in and looked up articles about some things I could do to combat the noise, and once again I re-checked my assembly of the turntable as well as the shelf on which the table was placed. This was all within the first month of owning the RT82. And it was within the first month that the speed issues began. Less than a minute into the start of an LP, the sound would begin to crackle and the rotation speed would slow to a crawl. So now Im legitimately frustrated. I have owned several older belt-drive turntables, and when this issue comes up, my first inclination is to check for a worn-out belt. But...a worn-out belt on a turntable that is less than a month old? Could the belt-twisting elves have snuck in during the night and twisted the belt around the platter? No, the belt looks fine. My next step is to check the motor pulley cap and make sure the alignment is secure. Check. Now I lift the tonearm and the motor doesnt even start. Oh wait, it just started. Oh wait, now its slowing to a crawl. Now it stopped. Ok, check the tonearm again. Maybe the counterweight is somehow no longer locked in place. No, the tonearm is fine. Maybe the.....ok, what is happening right now? Look, I understand what I did wrong. I read the bad reviews and the good reviews, saw that the good outnumbered the bad, and decided to gamble. I rolled the dice and lost. I could take it to be serviced by someone who knows what theyre doing, but really, why throw more money at it? I realized that I could either return it, or try to pop it open and look at the motor myself. Of course, then I would be left with a turntable that I may never trust to function properly without a monthly tune-up, which seems ridiculous. And, as Im sure I have made clear in this review, Im no technician. But I can pack a box, which is what I decided to do. Overall, I am very disappointed. The loud motor is one thing, there are a few tricks that you can find online to try to get that worked out (I cannot attest to these because I did not get to the point of trying them) but the speed issues, which have been documented in RT model reviews by other repentant customers, are a whole other matter. And the fact that it stopped working after a month is unacceptable. On Amazon, when I chose the option to return it, I was contacted immediately and they were very easy to deal with. The rep asked if I wanted him to contact Fluance to inquire about replacing it, but, as much as I wanted this to work out, I will very likely buy something else. I guess the timing of this thing sputtering to a complete stop worked out, since it happened within the return window. My protection plan, after a quick and friendly phone call, was also refunded almost in its entirety, so all told (so far), it could be worse. If you absolutely intend to buy this model, there are some good things about it. I can definitely say that its nice-looking. The instructions for assembly are easy to follow. Its also...I dont know, packed well? Im struggling here. It stopped working after a month. Did I mention its nice-looking? I cannot recommend the RT82. I certainly cannot recommend buying one without a protection plan. Based on the reviews, it seems that there is a good chance that you will get one that works. I did not. And I am sorry I bought it.

Nice unit. Great price. My bad boy sansui is rocking vinyl again. Excellent sound . I played my old stuff and it sounds good. Bought some new albums and wow what great sound .

Best turntable for the price you can buy. I use it with a Marantz pm5005 and a set of Klipsch R-51m speakers and to say it amazing is an understatement. Simple to set up and it was well packaged from Fluance. Make sure you check the add Amazon packaging or youll get it in the factory box, exposed to shipping damage and clearly marked as a turntable for your porch pirate. I would highly recommend this for anyone wanting to get back into vinyl.

I highly recommend this turntable to anyone looking for for a quality new turntable in the 300.00 price range. Be sure to purchase a digital scale for setting the tonearm weight, a vinyl cleaning kit, and a preamp if your receiver/powered speakers dont have phono inputs. Dont forget to read the instructions carefully. Dont panic when you turn it on and the platter doesnt move. The table ships with auto stop turned on. The platter wont start until the tone arm is over the record.

The RT82 doesn’t have a built in preamp, so that makes it harder for someone just getting into turntables to maybe get used to. Additionally, there’s some assembly, but all this said, I love the RT-82. The anti skating is top notch, sound quality with the needle is great, and I haven’t had any speed variance issues.

Ultimately went with this turntable after researching tons in this price range and slightly cheaper. I am happy that I chose this one and it sounds and looks great. I was thinking of getting the RT81, but after reading reviews and researching the styluses, I decided on the RT82 since I listen to a lot of jazz fusion music. I upgraded to the Fluance acrylic platter and have it paired with a Schiit Mani (piano black, black mani, and walnut Kanto YU6). When I wear out or get tired of the OM10, I can get the 2M blue and basically have a RT85 with a spare cart and stylus (or get OM20 for existing cart) and not have paid a crazy amount more. Definitely would get this model over others in the price range and would consider spending more over the RT80 and 81 if you plan on building a system around it or want to future proof against having to get a completely new turntable to upgrade.

Ive upgraded from an entry-level Audio-Technia and it was 100% worth it. The unit sounds great, it is far less likely to skip, and it looks awesome on the shelf. It arrived very carefully packaged (some assembly required). The instructions for balancing the arm were fine, but Fluance also has some videos available to talk you through it. Using mine with a Sony amp and a pair of Edifier P12 bookshelf speakers.

It has a switch in the back that allows you to stop the spinning when the record ends so you dont wear out the cartridge. Overall great turntable.

I will probably be ordering a replacement, but this first experience was not the greatest. Got it quicker than expected which was nice. Open it up and it was missing the gloves and instructions. Right there I should have known. Got it all setup and read all the instructions on the Companys website and it kept skipping my records. I did everything. I have an older record player that had no issues at all with any of my records. I talked with customer support and after a few days back and forth they couldnt figure out what the issue was. I have since sent it back and might upgrade to the rt83 from the RT82. You might want to buy direct on their website.