Review Details

RT81 Elite High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on February 18, 2017):

Like anyone else recently getting back into vinyl, I was stunned by how swiftly the prices leapt into the thousand-plus for turntables, in addition to receivers and speakers that could easily cost you thousands more. At first I bought an under-$100 table from a major online retailer. It worked, but the sound limitations were just unacceptable -- all of the loudest notes distorted and the sound was just too fuzzy overall. I worried that perhaps you really do get what you pay for with turntables and almost plunked down over $500 for the same model my friend has. But then I found this beauty! Now I can hear far more undistorted detail in the music than my super-cheap first table, with far more warmth and depth conveyed than CDs (and certainly far better than MP3!). To my ear (note: I am an audio enthusiast, but certainly not a snobby audiophile), this table sounds as good as my friend's but for half the price. Two tips: first, when I first unpacked and set this up, the first record I put on definitely had notable static pops and sizzle. I suspect it may have been due to the static electricity generated by all the unpacking in the dry winter home. By the next day, all the static pop was gone. I do recommend that you have good anti-static brush for your records, though, because this needle is very sensitive and will convey that static to your speakers. Second tip: you can set this up pretty cheaply if you have another system with a 3.5 mm Audio In/Input jack. I had an older but still great-sounding table top CD system. I bought an RCA-to-3.5 mm adapter wire and plugged this Fluance into that. Works great without having to buy a new set of powered speakers or a receiver/speaker combo! I plan to upgrade my system eventually to a proper receiver and newer speakers, but my budget dictated that I couldn't do it all at once, so I thought I would pass along that tip if your budget is like mine...