Review Details

RT81 Elite High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on October 3, 2017):

In 1968 I bought complete AR (Acoustic Research) set-up; turntable, amplifier, and 2a speakers. It's been quite a while since I had to replace the amplifier--AR tried to do too much and it was even less reliable than the space shuttle--and finally it seemed time to bite the bullet and get a new turntable. Based on reviews, price, looks, and everything else I could devour I chose the Fluance RT 81. It arrived today and I forced myself to read the set-up instructions al the way through and yes, it's easy. I turned it on and put on a record and it truly sounded like hell; rumbling, muddy, and awful. My amplifier includes a pre-amp and I'd carefully set the switch on the turntable to phono. But I'd fiddled around and decided I needed to check again, and bingo, it was somehow set at line. So I re-set the switch to phono, put on another record and I have to say I'm blown away. It is absolutely quiet--no background noise, no rumbling, and clear as can be. I'm listening to Glenn Gould playing Bach keyboard concertos, and I can hear every note, every string in the orchestra, and all his singing (he was famous for singing along as he played). I don't remember what things sounded like when my whole AR set-up was brand new, but I can say with confidence my records haven't sounded this good in more than 20 years at least. And now I don't need to go get a hearing test! Let me say again how easy this TT is to set up if you follow the instructions, how absolutely lovely it sounds, and how happy I am with this TT. But you absolutely DO have to make sure the line-phono switch is set to match your amplifier!