RT81 Elite High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

went own from Thorns td165, but this Fluance will hold it's own in quality and sound. Not a Thorns, but nice for the price. A quality product.

When assembled (not very difficult), I tried playing my Lab Cut LP (Donald Fagen's Nightfly) and he sounded more like Alvin of "The Chipmunks". After doing a speed test it showed the 33 1/3 speed was actually playing above 45 RPM and the 45 speed was almost 60! I set out to perform a speed adjustment (with a jewelers screw driver set) only to discover that the adjustment nuts on the rheostat of the speed controller were such cheap plastic that one had broken off at the first attempt. The whole unit itself looks gorgeous but unfortunately the internal components are very cheap. Don't waste your time or money. Look for a direct drive with a built in strobe and speed controller right next to the platter so each speed can be easily and accurately adjusted.

I grew up with a record player but was always too scared to learn to use it. Now in my 30s I wanted to have my own. Did research and pulled the trigger on this one. Christmas morning I bring it over and my 64 yr old dad is happily teaching me all the part names and such. First he rips the ribbon holding the belt so we struggle a little to install that (oops) and when we get to balancing the tone arm we fight with the thing for almost half an hour listening to the opening of Ghost's Impera album god knows how many times. We achieve music and I take it home. I FINALLY read the instructions all the way and figure out where we went wrong. It's a nice solid and heavy player so far I love it! If I had one complaint and this is minor the power plug feels a bit on the cheaper side and it's a little bulky but that's seriously my ONLY complaint. Definitely recommend!

The variable speed controls are extremely tiny screws that can only be accessed underneath the plinth while the platter is spinning, so precise speed adjustments have to be made with an optical disk or an awkward rpm app while the turntable is up on some kind of risers that allow access to the bottom. This is a very difficult adjustment to make, and since the factory speed settings on mine were off enough to notice, I effectively ruined the tuning screws and guides while blindly (due to design) poking around trying to fit and fine tune speed. Maybe the assumption is that someone buying this model doesn't need fine speed/pitch control, but that doesn't comport with the other premium positioning, components, etc. It's a frustrating inconsistency, as I like the turntable in all other respects. Buyer beware.

I absolutely love this! The quality is absolutely amazing for the price and is seriously worth every penny. I haven't had a single issue and I've had her for a few months now. It's also very easy to put together (directions are included thankfully!).

love it

Bought this for a gift for myself back to using my LPs. I love it had a little bit of difficulty pairing speakers together because you need to make sure the preamp is on the right spot other than that love it

At the price (and especially the $50 off sale price I recently got mine for) I think there's few if any other tables that can compete. Build quality is exceptional and the feet have it perfectly level. There are just a few caveats though. First i wish the power/speed knob had a better grip like perhaps a diamond pattern instead of the concentric grooves that make it kind of slippery to turn. Also can't believe nobody noticed but the little clip that holds the arm in place on the rest....when it's flipped out it kind of gets in the way of the cueing lever. This is not the case on my other Fluance an RT83. And lastly WHY are they not putting the newer version of the AT cartridge on these, the AT-VM95e?? It replaced the AT95e about four years ago!! My best guess is they got a deal to buy up the old stock from Audio Technica and are still using what they have. But what comes on it is perfectly fine and for the $$ this is still a great turntable.

Had the rt85, and returned it.Rt82 I less prone to rumble due to the less sensitive needle.It sounds amazing throught my HK 730 and Klipsch rf620's.Highs are crisp, and the lows really dip.This reciever is rated at4hz to 35k hz., so the room for the wide range is there.Great buy at this price for a vintage nut like me.

Great turntable

Love it. Looks preformence and ease of use. I noticed one review stated the tonearm would not return in auto off mode. Unit shuts off and isn't supposed to return, that is clearly stated in instructions and is normal and not a malfunction. Had a couple of occasions to call tech support just to make sure I understood something and they were great very helpful. No regrets with my RT 81. I have four other brands and this is my favorite.

Sound quality is great when paired with a proper stereo system! Lots of ways to upgrade this turntable.My one and only gripe is the auto stop function seems to have stopped working about 6 months in

Initially we bought Rt81 and set of AI60 powered speakers for Daughter for Christmas we Like them so well we bought a set for ourselves .

Bought this as a gift. Was expecting that it can play vinyl records on its own. Didn't expect that will need to buy a lot of complements like extra speakers, wires, etc. for it to play something. Though it's a high quality vinyl player

Just started getting into this hobby. I started with a suitcase player and did not like it one bit.. did a bit of research and found the RT81. It came with very clear directions, setting the counter weight was the trickiest part and that only took a few minutes. Everything else was super easy and really smooth. We are just using some powered bookshelf speakers and it sounds awesome. Way better than the suitcase players.. it was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but records are expensive.. if your looking for a place to start, save up and get this instead of a suitcase.

This is much more than a starter turntable, I use it more than my Vintage Pioneer turntable.

Love this turntable, straight forward easy to use, all about turntable only, no pre amps or Bluetooth.

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Amazing quality, easy set-up and best value under $300 or even $500 for the sound and design! Simple yet elegant (I purchased the piano black to match my components) very basic controls. Better sound than previous turntables like Marantz, Music Hall, Audio Technica and Technics. Lucked out and got this Fluance Beauty brand new for only $211.90 with free shipping. Amazing deal!

It looks great and sounds great.What more could you ask for?

Highly recommended! Easy setup.

I originally bought a 6-in-1 Victrola because of the aesthetic and I liked all the capabilities. It was cheaply made and I wasn't super impressed, so I returned it and bought the Fluance instead. It was a jump in price, especially given you need to buy speakers as well to be able to listen to your records. But it was 100% worth it! I combined with Edifer speakers which you can also purchase on Amazon. It was easy to put together, and the quality is very apparent right out the box.

I liked the walnut wood and the sound

The looks and they weight of the turntable are good. It sounded good but the sound fill out once the cartridge breaks in. It works well for a secondary system.

Bought a refurbished. Came with the wrong belt and was VERY quickly replaced! Thank you. Might upgrade the cartridge if I cared more. Great value for the casual record listener.

I was looking for a vintage turntable for a long time but it was very hard to find a decent one in good shape and for a good price that wasn't a scam. Finally went for the RT81 and I'm extremely happy with the quality of this turntable and the fact that it looks like a vintage unit, yet one that is brand new and will last for years and years. Superb quality and value for the money!

I would highly recommend this item (turntable). Great quality and craftmanship. Great cartridge.

Best product by far, after a lot of research came with this turn table and I have never regret it, the quality of the wood and materials make it an amazing thing to look at, the sound quality is amazing and the customer service when I needed a repair (It was my fault) was the best experience I have ever had, Brent immediately knew what I needed and he even set up a case with the repair part number that then Julie took over when I called and she even filled out everything for me, all I had to do was to provide my address! that easy! she even followed up a few days later to make sure all worked out and my turntable was working, so just by that I think the product is even more worth it and I couldn't recommend it enough.

This is the first turntable I've purchased in over 30 years. I didn't want to spend a lot, but I didn't want to buy a disposable "almost" product. Fluance makes a solid, quality turntable. Easy to set up, terrific sound quality. I don't know how long I'll have this turntable, but I already know that my next one will be a Fluance.

I have searched far and wide for turntables in the $200-$300 price range with auto-return. The Fluance RT-80 and 81 both at least have auto-stop. The 81 is well worth the additional $50 over the 80, making it the best choice I've found in the past 5 years.I received this message a while back from the very nice folks at the Fluance Customer Experience Team:"The RT80 only comes in Piano Black and the 8 1 has 3 color options (Walnut, Black, and White).There RT80 Plinth is built with engineered wood and is hollow, and the RT81 is constructed with Solid High Mass MDF Wood.The RT80 comes with a felt mat, the 81 comes with a rubber mat.They are both belt driven with a precision DC motor.The tone arm specifications are the same in both.You are correct that one of the main differences is the cartridge/ stylus combination that comes pre mounted. There are many differences between the Audio Technica AT91 Cartridge and Audio Technica AT95E Cartridge, such as sensitivity and output."So I put down 4 stars "for beginners", as maybe the less expensive 80 is better for that customer, but the 81 is a darn nice turntable at a very reasonable price.

So far so good. Only thing is the stylus alignment. It's almost perfect - according to the protractor provided with the instructions book. Can't do better. But for a basic turntable, the sound is pretty good. Upgrading the stylus or the cartridge would not be big difference for me since my vinyls are old - some are from the early 1950's. One bought in the 1980's is a Manitas de Plata' guitar vinyl. Today I hear sounds I never heard before on any of my turntables (last one a great Akai). Now I hope this Fluance RT81 is always the good turntable I am singing the praise of.

Great turntable for the vinyl revival. Easy to put together. Hinged cover works well. Tracks well at 2grams. Has a preamp! Solidly built.

went together well, works well

Easy setup , great looking and sound. I bought the white by mistake but Actually Like it!

it's for my own enjoyment and overall so far it's been very good

Very nice looking and components appear to be high quality.

I like everything about this turntable, the quality is exceptional for the price. The supplied entry level cartridge is adequate and easily upgraded if you choose to pair this with a higher end system as I did.

Wow! This turntable is amazing. Especially for the price. Came well packaged. Setup was straight forward. Looks and sounds amazing. I have it pared with powered speakers and a Bluetooth transmitter for headphone listening. Amazing detail, and superb sound. First run, the speed fluctuates a bit, but I'm sure the 24 hour motor break-in process will rectify that. Very pleased with my purchase. Thank You Fluance.

I have been looking for a moderate priced turntable. This turntable looks great, is easy to set up, and sounds amazing. I love it!

Very sleek looking. Great sound quality for a beginner turntable. My dust cover was missing a rubber bumper and customer service had a replacement out to me within a few days. Very happy with my purchase.

Fast delivery and good price.

My first purchased turntable. No regrets so far and I must admit, it was a pleasure to unpack, assemble and setup. But the best moment is when I put on a vinyl and felt the warmth of the sound. Amazing looking product and great sound. Thank you.

Its my first quality turntable and i love it

Generally a good phono but the auto stop feature works sometimes and not others. It sometimes lets the needle go all the way past the end of the recording to the center spindle, on the paper center....I would have gone for a true auto return table if I purchased one now.

I haven’t had a chance to set up the turntable yet because I bought it for my cabin. It was very well packaged though and everything seems high quality and very well made

I like the turntable, it is amazing how good the stylus' are now compared to what I had in the 70's. One problem, the autostop feature does not work. Sometimes the platter will stop rotating when done with the side, but the arm never returns to the stand.

two items the 1st is I wish you had a place to put the 45 little disk inside the phono the 2nd wish you would provide a upgrade to the needle , if you would like to make it better send me th upgraded needle

This RT81 is a great bang for your buck.Solid performer with decent parts and a built in amplifier. The auto stop feature is a nice touch a works well with 12" LPs.I love the wood finish on this colour, it looks very nice. The simplicity of the design is also appreciated, it makes it look modern with a hint of vintage.The Audio Technical AT95e cartridge is a nice midrange moving magnet needle combo which yields in good sound quality.The only gripe with this is the tone arm mechanism. It feels a little cheaper and flimsier than my Audio Technica LP120. Also, and this is more of a personal preference, the lowering mechanism is very slow.Other than that it does it's job and works well.This is a good beginner to mid range turn table. Ingot this for my wife. I personally prefer direct drive tables, but there is nothing wrong with this belt driven RT81. It has all the features you want and yields in good sound performance.

Looks fantastic, built in preamp works great with Fluance active speakers. Leaps & bounds better than my Crosley Cruiser lol

Sound is great! Just got this and the basic Edifier speakers and man it is awesome. We are cranking it up every evening just so happy with it. Solid delivery, packaging was perfect no issues. Quality company and product. Can't do better for a beginning to intermediate setup.

Great quality and great price. Highly recommend!

I have tried setting up the arm multiple times. No matter what I do, all I get is distorted sound. Checked and rechecked all wires, and ground.

I was surprised at how deep and rich the walnut finish on this turntable is. It comes with a preamp which is a bonus and it sounds nice with Anthem amp and Ascend Acoustic speakers. Very happy.

Overall great record player. Balance is good as well the auto off function. Love it!

This is a really great turntable. I had been itching to go back to vinyl for a while, so I did A LOT of research before I bought. Having read about 100 reviews, it came down to the Audio Technica and the Fluance. In the end, I pulled the trigger on the Flunace - the reviews on the RT81 are almost universally great for a reason. I also wanted to make sure I had something sturdy - and the MDF design is great - it looks spectacular and it plays even better. I took advantage of the anniversary sale and paired it with the Fluance bookshelf speakers (signature HiFi 2 way ) as well. I have to say, it's been really great to have vinyl again, and they sound spectacular in this system.

Turntable arrived as scheduled. Set up took maybe 15 minutes. The unit works and sounds great. I use the built in pre amp. Very smooth operation and nice appearance. Walnut finish. This was a excellent purchase.

Sound quality and woodworking is awesome

The cheap plastic cased needle broke, no surprise, and the replacement is $46. It's a cheap 1/2 inch piece of plastic with a needle. If I knew this ahead of time I would have never purchased it. Waste of money.

your search is over for turntable This RT81 is it folks!!! this thing sounds nothing short of amazing the fact that when it arrives it is going to take about an hour just getting everything out of the packaging that tells you a lot about this company from Canada. BUY IT!!!! this table sounds better than i've heard costing 3-4 times more!!!

Love the quality and craftsmanship of this turntable but I highly suggest upgrading to a better stylus asap. The Atn95e is what is provided and it is quite frankly mid as possible. Cheap stylus on a 300 dollar turntable doesn't sit right with me. I suggest buying this if you are at an intermediate level of vinyl knowledge and are looking to make an upgrade from beginner style turntables. Some fine tuning is necessary and you'll need to buy a stylus scale to get the sound and balance you want with this. 8/10 with the stylus it comes with but just upgraded to the AudioTechnica VMN95sh and wow what a difference. 10/10 with the right stylus and cartridge. If you wish to upgrade you will have to buy a new cartridge in addition to your preferred stylus but many come packaged together.

Needed a proper turntable to replace my old one. Love it.

Estéticamente muy lindo el equipo. Una gran calidad de sonido. Lo compre luego de utilizar un audio technica y thecnis. Satisfecho con la compra.

My first player and I don't regret the purchase at all! Definitely Going to be using this thing all day.

Great sound. Easy to setup. It has a beautiful finish and blends with my console.

It was sent back

This is my second Fluance table that I have purchased, the first one being the RT 80. I will say both tables are simply amazing. The build quality and the glossy white or black finish alone would sell some people on it. The attention to simplicity and detail is so perfect. The RT 81 comes with an upgraded cartridge from the 80, which is a bit of a difference. It is semi-automatic, meaning it doesn't return the tonearm at the end of the record, it nearly stops spinning after about 30 seconds. When you first get it out of the box, it requires some assembly of the tonearm, counter weight, platter and the dust cover. Instructions are pretty straight forward, but if you have questions, customer service is fantastic! I've been buying different turntables for years, Fluance is the absolute best at their price point. You will get years of enjoyment out your Fluance. Highly recommend!!

Great looking turntable with rich sound

This turntable is top notch! It was easy to set up and offers excellent sound quality! I am very happy with my purchase!

good quality, easy nset up, good price

Beauty, style, and sounds great. Very easy to install. I recommend Fluance to all my friends.

Good record player.

Looks great sounds great

It should first be noted that I am new to vinyl. That being said, I did my research before ending up on this turntable, and I am glad that this is my first. The turntable is manual, so you will have to learn how to set the stylus manually, but honestly, that took all about 2 minutes. The instruction manual walks you through step-by-step on set up and was easy to understand. I also really like the dark brown look of the Turntable. For $250 this thing is super premium looking and feeling. Well worth the investment.

I was looking to upgrade from a somewhat novice turntable to something a bit nicer on a limited budget, and the RT81 has been a perfect fit. The setup was straightforward, construction and quality seem great, and it's simple design make for an easy and enjoyable experience.

Good quality turntable for anyone. Beginners to seasoned audiophilles

For the price point you can't go wrong with the customizable options and quality.It sounds and looks lovely, and was very easy to assemble in 20 minutes.My family and I throw down with records from time to time so this was perfect for my budget. I'm also now using it to upload MP4s to YouChoobe to share with friends and family.

Directions for setting up tonearm & preamp with existing system were a challenge. However, the Amazon rep in Seattle was amazing and connected us to the tech guy at the manufacturer who solved the issues. Highly recommend this product just based solely on customer service from both parties.

Perfect turntable looks great plays great. I highly recommend

Great turntable. Sounds phoneminal...w/ a couple of bookshelf speakers. There is a little patience required setting up properly so it's not for beginners. It is definitely not giftable unless they are a little techy. I'm very pleased.

Great product the only reason I didn't give 5 stars for gift is that some people might not want to set up the tone arm.

Bought this for my daughter who is new to records. Easy to setup. Sounds amazing. The sound is so good it makes me sad that I spent way more on my table

My first ever turntable and I couldn't be happier! Decent price, easy to assemble, great sound & nice to look at.

Look amazing, sound perfect, simple

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Im not an audiophile, but this turntable sounds perfect to me.It's relatively cheap, looks amazing, sounds amazing and surprisingly easy to setup.Would easily recommend this to anyone.

Great quality, excellent sound. Beautiful finish

This is a fantastic turntable. Even my 40 year old records came to life. Love the built-in preamp that lets us use powered speakers without additional components cluttering up our living room. Just buy it if you are considering this model. To my 44-year-old ears, the sound is crystal clear and beautifully rendered with this machine. Don’t bother with a cheap all-in-one…we did, and I bought the Fluance less than a month later because the cheap player was so bad. The RT81 just oozes quality when you see it and use it. Thank you for creating a beautiful turntable that plays well above its price!

This was a solid and affordable turntable while it worked. Unfortunately, a component in the tonearm failed a few months after the two-year warranty expired. The only way to replace this component is to replace the whole tonearm. I contacted Fluance customer support to see about purchasing a replacement. After a couple months of waiting and them "losing" my support ticket a couple times, they got back with a simple "we don't have the part". So now I'm left with this large paper weight on my shelf as I shop for another turntable. Sadly, I won't be purchasing from Fluance again. And I thought we had such a good thing going...

needs speakers

I don’t think you can do much better for the priceHOWEVER I believe my order requested the black model while I received the wood grain.

The unit arrived earlier than expected. The assembly instructions were easy to follow. It was a breeze to assemble. The sound quality is superb for my 70 years old ears. For more than 20 years I had not played vinil records and was longing to listen to some old ones. It was my decision, that for the price I could not go wrong. I have records that are over 50 years old, and they sound great. During my life I have owned several record players, Garrard, Dual, Technics, this unit can go toe to toe with any of them.

I have bought three turntables in the last 6-7 years. I've given two away. This is a keeper. It's the most I've spent on a turntable by 2x+... and I was concerned I would be disappointed that I should have gone for the $100 and down model. I'm REALLY pleased. I'm a tactile person. This is solid. Heavy in the best of ways. Metal where you want metal instead of plastic. Fit and finish are on point. Sound quality - definitely improved over the $70 suitcase model I had before (not sure what I was thinking). A joy to assemble and the directions are perfect. I've just purchased my last turntable... super psyched.

excellent turntable, very well made

Sounds great Well made

Balancing the tone arm took a little patience but still easy enough to do. Sounds great. Love playing my 30 - 50 year old LP's.

love this turntable. looks great, plays beautifully

Have been pleased with this unit. Appears to be a good choice between entry level and high end.

Looks like a Pro-Ject. Sounds like a Pro-Ject. Half the price of a Pro-Ject.

I'm not the type of audiophile to play things at any speed other than the standard, so a lot of the complaints on the speeds on Amazon didn't really affect me.The sound of this player is above and beyond my last record player (the Victrola that looks like a vintage radio). Sound is great HOWEVER...The setup guide is incredibly unhelpful. This thing comes in PIECES. You have to determine yourself where the counterweight should rest because if you don't, you risk the arm going rogue and scratching your record. The arm is surprisingly flimsy. I'd recommend using this the first time with a record you don't care about because the chance it will scratch your record is high.Another MAJOR design flaw is that it doesn't stop when the end of a record is reached, so if you don't lift it as soon as it ends, you can wear out the needle over time.

Very impressed with the value of this Turntable. It is absolutely beautiful and looks more expensive than what it is. I originally purchased an Audio-Technica Turntable for $50 less than this Fluace TT and it looked and felt cheap. Sent it back and picked this one up and WOW. If you are new, a beginner, or getting back into Vinyl Records this is a must have Turntable. For the money it looks and sounds great too.

The term elite is a bit misleading. This is not a trrrible table by any means. However, it is flawed at its price point. You are met with a metal plinth, subpar very entry level cartridge, a cheap motor and highly resonant platter. Regardless of the quality of your amplifier, speakers and wiring, you will have rather significant booming coming from your platter. To upgrade this model is futile because you can simply purchase a higher grade model from several manufacturers that will provide you with more value for your money. The factory installed preamp is atrocious. You will need an aftermarket phono amp to provide at least decent volume.The best feature for non-enthusiasts is the auto stop feature that prevents your tone arm from scratching the vinyl once a side has finished. Although most high end tables lack this feature. You can easily select between 33.5 and 45 with one switch flip.Reaching out to customer service only provides you with a laundry list of ways that you can spend more money to attempt to create an isolated situation where your platter won't create a bass like boom when touched, walked by. So don't even breathe on it!All the solutions suggested, I had already tried to no avail. It's not worth putting more money into this system to chase better sound. Avoid this turntable if you are looking to purchase one and never upgrade.Cs basically told me this happens all the time while there are several units out there that do not experience tonal distortion from the platter or walking by it.One ludicrous suggestion was to remove the dust cover upon every play. Not only is this unreasonable, but it would lead to the pivot arms cracking the dust cover rendering it worthless.Fluance please be honest about this entry level TT. Please remove the "elite" moniker. It's not an elite product. You are tempting people with unfair bias. I suggest staying away from this TT altogether!

Stylus was already assembled, the counter balance was very easy to set and overall simple for someone that doesn't know much about turntables. Just be careful to turn off the preamp feature if you are using an external amp eg stereo receiver. Sounds better than the Audio Technica that cost almost double the price new.

Excellent sound

Replacing my Phillips 212 with the RT81. Couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Does everything it should easily. Very similar to the 212, belt drive, auto shut off. Just what I wanted. Plus it has a phono amp!

I like this guy! Works well, sounds great! More of a mid range option than a starter table. The pre amp is fine if it's all you have. My receiver had a better one so I use that (it has a bypass). But if you are just starting and you don't have one, you're fine. I bought some extra needles so I'm good for like the next decade of tunes. The only thing that isn't automatic on it is the arm doesn't go back home when a record ends. But it stops spinning. It stops turning if you pick up the arm, which is nice. It had a 33 and 45 option. It comes disassembled but it's easy to set up. I recommend watching a video on balancing the arm (not too tricky). The needle itself was properly positioned from the get go. If you want an economical turntable with a good sound, this one works!

I bought this turntable for a small listening space to be used primarily for listening to records with headphones. I have a Fiio K5 Pro Headphone Amp paired with the turntable. When using the built in preamp, the sound was thin and tinny. I had an old Pro-Ject Phono Box MM preamp that I put in my stack and the sound quality was immediately improved when I bypassed the built-in preamp. Outside of this not inconsiderable issue, the turntable is a nice sounding turntable. It does have auto-stop, but the record merely stops spinning it does not lift the needle off of the record. The build quality and assembly instructions were clear and easy to follow. I plan to get many years of use out of this turntable and would highly recommend it with the caveat that you supply your own preamp.

Great starter turntable

Sounds pretty good. I like alot

Very good quality and sound very pleased with my purchase

I BOUGHT THE TURN TABLE, IT ONLY TOOK A COUPLE DAYS TO GET HERE. OPRNED UP THE BOX EVERYTHING WAS NICE AND UNDAMAGED. DIRECTIONS WERE EASY, ANY ISSUES THEY HAVE TRAINED TECHS TO HELP. SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, NO PROBLEMS GOTTA SAY I LOVE IT, NOTHING SOUNDS QUITE LIKE IT. John J.

Great turntable, has a good weight and the cartridge sounds incredible off the top and is pre aligned. Paired with a decent set of powered speakers and the music is as crispy as when it was recorded

Very clear sound even with my old records some of them 40 years old. Fantastic. I strongly recomend this turntable.

Incredibly happy with the record player. This is my first brand new record player and I found the Installation and set up was very simple. I was worried I would need to spend way more to get a quality player, and that is not the case here. The sound is incredible.

This turntable sounds great.

Son asked for this specific turntable for Christmas. He was very pleased and happy with this gift - it shipped well to his home. Very happy with sound quality.

Looking to get back into collecting vinyl after 30yrs and found out my old turntable died, I had a tough decision to choose what turntable to buy. After doing a lot of turntable research, I decided on the Fluance mainly because the base is made out of mdf and I know it's a very solid material. Installation was a breeze. Cables were a perfect length. Even though I had a preamp, having the option for internal preamp is great. Never had to burnin a product before but I guess it's better than waiting for better sound. Great unit so far after a month.

Wish I had purchased this turntable last time. The sound is incredibly better than my old A T turntable. Sound is crisp and clear! I know their are better turntables available but this works wonderfully for me.

High quality. Absolutely beautiful both in sound and design. I recommend switching out the cartridge for an Ortofon 2m red and that will provide the cherry on top. Enjoy folks.

I didn't like that the liquid dampened cue lever liquid leaked out and it's not fully automatic also now it needs repair and it's too late to return.All in all a bad investment.Also it tracks to a weight of 2 grams which wears out the records too quick.Other old turntables didn't track that heavy.Don't buy it!

Nice for beginners.

This turntable is very well-made and absolutely stunning to look at. The sound quality that it delivers is of very high quality. I simply love this turntable!!!!

After massive stroke I had problems playing vinyl, let side problems. Got my vinyl out and started cleaning after many years of recovery.Started looking for new tables, always came back to this one after many great views. I'm not new with tables, just wanted a new one. We received in perfect condition and very easy setup.Had some feedback at first, solved by relocating center speaker on our Bose Acoustimass Surround System, perfect sound and quality.The wife suggested we play our Leonard Cohen album, what a great sound. At my age 69 I have lost some hearing but this is a 5 star table for us, meets our needs.

Bought this for my son to replace a $100 turntable and he absolutely loves it. Much cleaner sound and he loves the aesthetics.

This Fluance RT-81 seems to be pretty decent. Hard to compare when so few others have turntables. Major complaint: It tends to pick up a lot of low rumble and vibration. I had a speaker with good bass near it and it set off a runaway low roar feedback event. I had a set of Audio Technica isolation / leveling feet on hand and used those. Helped a lot. Keep the cover down to keep it from picking up shelf or cabinet rumble. My previous turntable was a Dual with the platter and drive on a floating, spring mounted chassis. Cuts WAY back on rumble. Need to bring those back? The AT95e cartridge also decent. I put a little too much pressure on it during cleaning it and bent the stylus. Had to order a new one. Don't remember them being that fragile decades ago.The RT-81 built-in preamp for line level seems decent. My Carver receiver from 1987 has a phono input and internal preamp and it seems to have a slight edge on the RT-81 but close. WARNING: If using a receiver or amp with both line and phono input, be VERY careful if you switch inputs - especially with the record playing. If the RT-81 is set to "Line" and you plug into "Phono", get ready for a massive overload. I made that mistake with the volume up and, along with the runaway rumble event, led to two blown woofers. I would also suggest upgrading the supplied RCA red / white cables for a better build. Also, when I use "Phono" level signal, hooking up the ground wire actually created MORE 60 / 120 cycle hum. I left it off and it sounds fine. Using line level avoids that issue.

Sound quality is great!

Arrived a little worse for wear, which worried me. Once opened up everything seemed okay.Directions easy to follow to setup, had a record on in less than 25 minutes. SOUNDS AMAZING!!For the person just testing the waters of the vinyl hobby, this unit is perfect!Very glad I went with Fluance over the other brands I was researching.BEAUTIFUL finish on it too...will look great in the basement!

I'm in love with this record player! Just got it today and it sounds fantastic and was maybe a 10 minute setup. If you're a beginner when it comes to turntables and need something that's great this is it! Built in preamp sounds fantastic and the sound quality is really really nice. Great job to fluance!

Absolutely beautiful turntable, well made, and incredible sound for the price. Couldn't be happier!

I have only had systems which included a turntable before, so that I was a little nervous to set it up. The directions were clear and easy to follow. It plays my records perfectly and with great sound quality. Couldn't love it more!

Product arrived with a bent stylus, it has now been over 3 weeks and I still haven't received the replacement. Customer service for Fluance has been shockingly slow, it's taken about 8 emails back and forth, and each response has a lag time of 3-4 days.Will update review once the product is working but I would advise against using fluance based on customer service alone.

The sound quality is very good. The wood used on the turntable is absolutely beautiful. It was very easy to set up with the directions enclosed and it integrated perfectly into my stereo system.

First record player I’ve purchased.

Great sound

It worked well with my existing receiver and speakers. It was easy to assemble.

I'm not an audiophile, so I won't get into the nitty gritty of the specs on this. I haven't had a turntable for years and years but I accumulated many records over the years. I love this player. It sounds great and it's pretty easy to calibrate the stylus and arm. The packaging is suburb. Everything about this turntable is quality. I got the wooden finish and it goes well with my black stereo components. Sounds great with my bookshelf speakers (Klipsch). Clear highs and clear lows. I feel it's very worth the price. If you are looking for a quality turntable with a nice needle to get into playing vinyl, I'd seriously consider this player. I'm very satisfied. Good bang for your buck. I would buy another product from Fluance and recommend this to anyone. Hope this little "review' helps anyone looking to make the purchase.

I bought this to play may small, and not expanding old collection of LPs. The supplied cartridge, Audio Technica AT95E, brings out great sound quality on my old records, some of which I've had for over 50 years.A lot of bang for my buck!

Bought this as a gift and she loved it!!

This is my first intro to vinyl so I don't have much to compare this to. However, I am very satisfied with the RT81, the sound is crystal clear from it. It was also set up perfectly out of the box and super easy to set up. Shipping was also very fast, and packaging was well put together. Fantastic purchase. For reference I am running the turntable through a Denon AVR, with Polk bookshelves

I recently moved and in the process ran across a fair trove of vinyl that I had collected over the years. Mostly classical with well-known labels... London, Deutsche Grammophon... mostly have not seen the light of day for well over 35 years.So, what turntable to buy that will not break the bank while still performing well. I went with the Fluance RT-81. This is their entry level model but it has a cartridge not usually found on turntables in this price range.Setup was a breeze. Could not have been easier. The built in phono preamp is decent. Might upgrade to a separate preamp down the road as the turntable has a switch to send signal to a separate preamp. Using a phone app, my turntable spins at 33.6 RPM when in the 33.3 setting. That is adjustable at the bottom of the unit but 33.6 is close enough for me. The tonearm was easy to balance and then set the suggested 2 grams weight for the stylus.Those who spend thousands on a turntable will likely scoff at a 250.00 USD turntable but the way I look at it is this - one can spend a few hundred dollars and get a turntable that will get you 95% to perfection. To move from 95% to 99.5% would take thousands and thousands. The returns on investment diminish quickly. I am a trained musician so my ears are pretty good. I like this turntable.

Very happy with RT81, it is well built, has weight and easy to follow instructions to get it setup. It is a beautiful turntable that operates perfectly. I have used it everyday the first week. listened to 4 or 5 albums a day. It is so great to hear my old vinyl albums. It is a good choice for the beginner or seasoned audiophile. one of the only manual turntables at this price with Auto-Stop!!!

I finally unboxed my vintage albums and discovered my Kenwood direct drive linear tracking turntable didn't work. After reading review after review on various manufacturers I decided on Fluance. It was nicely packed and is quite nice. Setup was straight forward and had an album playing in 20 minutes. I highly recommend watching the video setup for the tone arm. I'm a casual listener and this exceeds my expectations.

First of all, let me start out by saying that the RT81 turntable is absolutely stunning! Sleek in design, the latest technology with a bit of a retro vibe. It came very well packaged and was super simple to set up - and this is from a very non-tech person. If I can do it, anyone can. I love this turntable and am sure I will get many years of play out of it!

The RT81 is a great record player for the vinyl enthusiast looking to get a solid first step into the vinyl world. The turntable has a very sophisticated look to it with the dark Natural Walnut finish. I did do some prior research to setting up turntables prior to its arrival so that did help setting it up a breeze.

Shipping was way faster than they said ,,Out of the box this thing looks impressive ! I had it set up in about 5 minutes and was playing first album in 10 , The sound is incredible , Tons of bass and Highs ,,the mids are way more pronounced than my old Technic

This is a beautiful record player for someone trying to start in vinyl record playing. This unit is easy to set up, just follow the instructional video of Fluance on YouTube. The materials used are exceptional and it seems like it would last for years; the plinth is heavy and the other parts such as the tone arm is exceptionally rigid. The sound is warm, but it seems kind of on the low end for the volume, need to raise the volume of my receiver. The included audio cable and ground wire is too short, so I have to replace it. All in all, I am quite satisfied with this player and would recommend to others to buy it. In the future I would upgrade the stylus to a nude elliptical one for a more definite sound.

Bought this for the tracking ability, had a couple of disks that needed more counterbalance. Terrific sound and beautiful finish were an added bonus.

Great looking and functioning turntable as advertised. Great for beginners, or, in my opinion, even serious audiophiles by simply upgrading to a better performing cartridge than the the stock AT 95 it comes with (not a bad cart but when I installed my AT 440 mlb on this record player, the sound quality was astounding!) highly recommend the RT81 especially for such an affordable price!

Hard to believe that my 40 year old vinyl collection sounds better than it did back when I bought it. Love this turntable!

I am new to records so take my review with that in mind. I live the look and ease of use of this player. The sounds on certain albums is muddy, which could be my speakers.

This player sounds great. Smooth mechanics. Easy setup.

this is your turntable!!!! i'm not kidding this sounds as good as 2k dollar tables i've heard this is a serious piece of audiophile equipment. There is nothing basic or introductory about this turntable this thing rivals some heavy hitters costing x5

Don't believe the negative reviews. This turntable was sooo worth the price. I had an all in one before I upgraded to the Fluance and I would have done it sooner if I knew that this was what I was missing out on. Having a counter balanced tonearm and an anti skate feature as well as a quality stylus cartridge makes a world of difference in my listening experience. Records sound fuller and warmer and I don't have any random skipping like I did with my old all in one set up. The needle drops so softly when you release the cue lever due to the counter balance. With my old all in one I felt like I was punishing my records every time I dropped the needle. It was awful. I bought this table used from Fluance and it was in excellent condition. I definitely recommend this turntable for anyone looking to upgrade from a lesser set up.

Sounds great, quality product.

It brings me so much joy. I love this turntable. I play all of my dad's vinyls on it. I bought the sonos Five to go along with it and it's awesome. I plan on getting a pre-amp to bypass the one in this turntable - and get a second Sonos Five - but for now it makes me ultra happy.

Very honnest product sound fantastic. You can tell the People at fluance love music ! I highly recommand.

Sounds terrific, very solid.Looks and has a feel of quality hi fi equipment.Isn't really for beginners, as it's not automatic control, previous knowledge of turntables is of benefit.Used to have an old school Dual belt drive turntable from eay 80s, solid wood plinth etc etc.. THIS looks better and sounds better..

Lives up to all the hype and great reviews! Outstanding value…would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Nothing but a waste of my time. Thanks a lot

Got this for my husband for Christmas and it is a beautiful player and sounds great! He has really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it!

Solidly built, excellent sound, this is a wonderful turntable. Highly recommended.

Great sound quality, high quality parts, easy to use

This was an upgrade to my all in one udreamer phonographJust getting back into records after a 38 year CD or streaming break.This TT was easy to setup and use I paired it with the Edifier 1280T speakers and it sounds greatI may move up to the fancy RT85 if I really get OCD and audiophile bug :)Great value IMHO wood plinth is high quality

I purchased this turntable as a family gift and we are extremely happy with it. Great quality, easy set up, and looks really cool. Highly recommended.

belle table tournante

This is such a quality turntable. It is well built and looks absolutely gorgeous. The set up is easy with clear directions, and most importantly, the sound is fantastic. I'm pairing it with Edifier R1280DBs Active Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers. The turntable doesn't have Bluetooth, but connects easily with RCA cable. It's only been a week, but I am thrilled with my purchase and so happy to be playing my albums again!

The Fluance Turntable was easy to set up, has very good audio and looks great. I followed the recommended 24 hour break-in and am looking forward to many hours of quality music listening.

Very sturdy. Extremely well made!! Classy look! Great sound, but don't forget sound gets better with good equipment besides just the turntable alone!!

great product for the price.

I got this as a gift for Christmas but never opened until today, unfortunately for me having not inspecting when it came, the shipper had damaged the box and upon opening discovered the plith was badly damaged. But what a great sounding TT for the price. I have owned many tables from tecniques rega and many in between, this exceptional value.

Nice looking and good sounding. Easy to assemble and change needle, if/when needed. Music sounds and feels better than radio or streaming. Even better than cds. Mood changer, for the better!

Excellent turntable with an amazing sound!

Recently purchased this turntable and I must say that I'm impressed with the quality and ease to assemble. I'm using Ai41 Powered Speakers and I initially had issues with not hearing any audio from the speakers. I did contact support and they were helpful with trouble shooting however I ended up figuring it out by chance. Once I turned off Standby mode (solid red light) on the speakers then the audio started to come through. Not sure if any else had the same issues. I would highly recommend this set-up. I may purchase a Fluance sub-woofer to further enhance the over all experience.

Purchased this and Fluance Ai41 Bookshelf speakers. Whole deal was over $500. The sound from the turn-table is SO low, hard to hear. However, the speakers are Bluetooth compatible, so when I connect my phone to them and stream music, they are very loud / good sound quality. Trying to get assistance from Fluance is an exercise in frustration.

Ive had this for a little over 3 years at the time of this review and I still use this daily. I just get a new belt every 6 months and upgraded my cartridge to a Nagaoka MP-110 and Schiit Mani preamp. Sounds great with my setup.

Easy set up. Had to buy power speakers to go with the turntable. Looks good and sounds good. Had pre amp already inside.

LOVE THIS!!! i bought edison shelf speakers to go along with this and it sounds incredible and i love the look of this

Absolutely love this record player. I feel that this is one of the best starter record players but can also be the last one you buy. It arrived un-damaged, was easy to set-up, tracked at a perfect 33.3 rpm, and sounds awesome. Don't skimp out on a new/first record player, get this one at the very minimum.

Relaxation

Great purchase, fine sound!

The turntable works well and I like it very much. What sucks is the customer service as I've contacted them through Amazon multiple times and not received any answer. All I wanted to know was what the warranty was on this item but no response. Otherwise it would have been five stars.

If you are spending the extra money for a quality record player, spend a little extra for good set of speakers as well. Totally worth the investment. Set up easy, be sure to read instructions about calibrating the tone arm for beginners, to avoid scratching/damaging your records. Proper set up leads to smooth sailing for your listening experience.

The sound quality is very good. It makes my regular stereo System sound better than I expected.

This item was purchased as a wedding gift and delivered to the newly wed residence. I have not seen it or talked with the recipient.

Setup will be easier if you're already experienced in concepts like tone arm balancing.But even if you're new to vinyl have no fear, instructions and YouTube unboxing will help!

Really liked the built in phono preamp & the Auto Shutoff feature, at the end of the Record.

I bought this for my adult daughter for Christmas. She loves it! It's so beautiful and easy to assemble with the straight-forward set-up instructions. I was confused in thinking that the built-in preamp meant that speakers wouldn't be needed. I was wrong. Once we got this hooked up to my stereo system to test, it was awesome. It sounds great - crisp and clear! (Although, I don't think it sounds like my old school record player, which I was hoping it would, which might be due to the vinyl, itself.)

Impeccable!

Wonderful build quality and pretty simple to set up. Grab some good speakers, good music and get ready for good times!

Good bang for the buck on this. I'm pleased.

Gorgeous turntable! The packaging was great and the manual made for a very setup. Acquired a large collection of vinyl and at 60 years old, it was time to purchase a "real" turntable.

Love this turntable, in particular that it has the built in amp. Easy to use!!!

Excellent quality Fluance RT81 turntable. Easy to set up and sounds amazing! Highly recommended!

Listen to all my old vinyls with great sound

Incredible turntable, i never leave reviews for anything, but this is totally worth it, if you're upgrading from a very cheap starter turntable i couldn't recommend this more, I'm using the built in preamp and running it into my Yamaha RN-303D amp and it sounds absolutely amazing, i was sceptical with purchasing this thinking it might be another cheap player but thats not that case at all, cant fault it

NEVER HAS WORKED PROPERLY. NOTHING BUT DISTORTION.

I liked evey thing about product..

Great look, easy set up, and great sound. It looks amazing in my room and sounds even better! This is my first turntable and is the perfect entry turntable to getting into vinyl listening. Only note is to play around with the counterweight a little more than they recommend in the instructions since on my table, the suggested weight was a touch too heavy.

Great documentation, easy setup, sounds fantastic with my home theatre system

I really like the look and how easy it was to put together with the instructions. The only problem I had was my Onkyo receiver didn't have a phono preamp built into it. Because of the preamp built into the Fluance turntable, I could barely hear the music, but I could understand what was being played. It was disappointing. A few weeks later I ordered a Pyle phono preamp; hooked it up to the turntable and the Onkyo receiver and now I hear everything crystal clear. It's been years since I had a turntable and it brings joy and the memories of painful times when I listen to my albums. Summing it up, all things work together for the good.

Excellent in the small room I have with the Fluance RT81 turntable and Ai41 speakers.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and sound that was generated by this beautiful turntable with my old 40 year old LPs. The turntable is beautiful, well crafted. Knowing what I now know, I wish I would have upgraded to the direct drive. The belt looks flimsy, but works perfectly, so no complaints. I'm sure i can get another belt if the original wears out.

I bought this for my husband but once he started to unpack this I fell in love. Started from the professional packaging to set up to sound quality. Definitely

Love the sound and sleek design, especially for the price. My only concern is the curing lever. It is to close to the tonearm lock and very hard to operate and find in low light situations. My suggestion would be and very small light at the end or even a small white glow in the dark dot or groove.

Easy to assemble. Looks fantastic. Great for beginners.

Couldn't be happier. Purchased the RT81. The sound quality is great. The set up was simple. The price was right on.

Takes a longntime to ship. Same item diff color is overpriced. Not a fan.

Husband is super happy. The sound is great (as long as you have good speakers and the right cable). It's beautiful too. Have had them for 4 months and they are working great

I like the appearance of the Fluance 81. Seems to be made well.

Easy to set up and great quality.

Spent hours comparing other turntables and wasn't prepared to spend too much on a high end unit. I was eventually taken by the Fluance, but went for the slight better model from the base unit because of the stylus. Amazed how good it sounded and how well built it is. This definitely punches above its weight

ok so I purchased this unit for my 8 year old daughter who is getting into music and loves vinyl. the turntable is great for her and sturdy enough. for the price there are very few turntables out there that I would suggest. Also the cart/table shouldnt ruin your vinyl for when/if you eventually upgrade.

Very high quality. Delivers as promised. Love it.

Great Turntable.

Getting used a record again. Static electricity is a serious thing so beware of it and be prepared to deal with it. Would have been nice for some recommendations for items to deal with this. Otherwise it's amazing.

Easy to put together. Sound quality is exceptional for the price.

Fantastic sounding record player. Only downside is no volume control

I decided to do some research on entry level turntables after receiving an all in one as a Christmas gift and decided on this one. So far, so good. Set-up was relatively easy and to my ears at least, it sounds great. It's currently hooked up to my AV receiver for the time being. At some point, I'll most likely switch to a couple of powered speakers and maybe an external preamp down the road.

This is an amazing turntable. I am a beginner and very satisfied.

I'm far from an audiophile, but I still demand crisp sound. This product doesn't break the bank, plays my records well, and looks absolutely beautiful. The high gloss wood finish is stunning. You won't find anything better for the price. This company ensures you're getting your money's worth in terms of features while also adding beauty to it's product.I spent an ungodly amount of time watching YouTube videos and other online research before pulling the trigger on this product (with hesitation). Unless this is above/too far below your budget, save yourself the time and hassle and choose Fluance!Hope this proves helpful - blessings and good health during these tough times

Nice looking turntable, easy to assemble if you follow instructions. sound is excellent.

This gift was the best I have ever bought from Amazon. The sound is perfect and crisp like when I was child.

One, if not, the best entry level turntable if you're trying to get into the more advanced / expensive side of turntables.

Failed out of the box. Support staff as helpful as possible, but finally ordered a new head for the tonearm, Installed and works as expected. One piece of usless advice from one tech "the needle has to be broken in" after explaining that the head transmits static but no recognizable other sound.

My husband loved dor his cigar lounge . Very happy with the purchase.

We love this record player. Has a sleek design, a nice quality record player. Sound is great. Purchased new speakers to go a long with it, very pleased.

nice turntable ,& easy to set up

It looks great. Sounds great. Best price. Much better then other more expensive options. I love it.

It was given as a Christmas gift to my husband. He was absolutely amazed at the quality of the work put into the making of the stereo and how easy it was to set up.

I ordered this for the new year. But they had just sent an used one in such a poor packaging, I returned it immediately. If they can't take effort to pack the wonderful product, it is useless.The second time, when I ordered I got a beautiful turntable which is a great addition to my living room

For years I wanted to order a turn table so we could listen to our old 33rpm records. A Christmas gift mainly for my wife but I too am enjoying listening to good music. The turn table is very sturdy and was accompanied by good instructions. Thank you. We both are enjoying your product.

One of the best products on the market. Phenomenal customer service.

Excellent sound quality. Fine craftsmanship.

Love the look sound , everything!!!!!Not Bluetooth compatible so you get the true sound not the digital version-which is perfect!!!

Perfect blend of quality and value!

Set up instructions were clear and easy to understand. Solid construction. Sounds great!

I ordered this for a Christmas present, and who ever delivered the package rang the doorbell and ruined the gift surprise. Because the box has the turntables on the box and the name of the brand and company on it. Not happy about that. But all in all excellent record player.

I hated giving up my 30-year-old technichis turntable but it was time. This is sounds as good as it looks. I'd recommend it and give it five stars

This turntable replaced an older (30+years old) Pioneer PL 510 direct drive turntable. I was gifted a new amp and speaker but there was no phono input with built in pre-amp. Decided to buy a new turntable instead of just getting a preamp.The key feature that drew me to this turntable was its feature to turn off at the end of the record. I am not always around when then record ends. This feature works great. I wish it did it faster when it reached the end of the record but this is not a big deal.My only "complaint" is that the control to lower the tone arm does not feels as solid compared to my older turntable. It works fine just a feel.Would definitely recommend this turntable.

for many of us with vinyl from our youth that is not always "pristine", it is a perfect companion for a trip down memory lane

I love this turntable. I am getting new cables and grounding cable. Wondering if the Fluance PA10 pre will impove it even more. Loving the clearer sound and better tracking them my old Pyle pro tt

I installed this tunrtable for my mother with the speakers and I'm impressed with the quality of the materials and sound.

Great sound, great modern look, easy instructions for weight setup, best price for the value

Looks beautiful, and it plays .. omg *chef's kiss* ... it plays so nice I can't stop listening. I would absolutely buy it again.

Easy set up. Amazing sound. Best turntable for the lower-middle range price

This player is exactly what you are looking for! The price point on this beautiful product is a steal. From attention to detail, to quality, to how well protected it is in transit - the Fluance RT81 is a phenomenal product that won't disappoint.

Purchased RT 81 Turntable and took it to England as a gift for my sister. Set up and works good. Only caveat, upon setting up, the cover on the power/speed selector knob, came off in my hand, I would have thought Fluance would use a solid metal or aluminium knob screwed to the shaft. Otherwise after set up the TT works fine.

Connection cable could be longer

I like this product very much and I am proud of having such a brand in Canada.

What an amazing turntable. I have owned many in my years collecting and listening to vinyl, and this is one of the best I have ever owned at it's price. From the cartridge, to the platter this is an amazingly built product. While I have only had it for a short period of time, I have used it a lot. It is easy to assemble and connected to my receiver and floor standing speakers the sound is out of this world. It also is beautiful to look at and I have gotten many complements on it as well.

Great turntable for the price. Well made and easy to set up.

This is the best record player we have gotten yet. The sound is amazing and it performs beautifully.

nice set up from factory

Works perfectly for me.

RT-81 Turntable...an excellent value.

Like it's simplicity and appearance. Dislike the fact that after record is played, it stops with stylus down.

Very nice and good value for money. SUPPORT Canadian companies!

I'm very happy with my purchase. The assembly was a little difficult, but okay as long as you read the directions first. Price is good for someone who is just starting with vinyl and doesn't need a high end system, and is much much better than cheaper versions(this was a replacement for the original $50 turntable I bought and hated).

Easy to set up and adjust. Sounds incredible. Much better than all of my previous turntables. Has a great look to it as well. It feels very well built.

I bought this unit as someone fairly new to vinyl but very much into sound quality. I was sold on vinyl after trying a Target Heyday turntable and decided to invest in an upgrade, so this review will focus on comparing the two in the hopes of aiding newcomers to the world of vinyl. First, there is a definitive difference in tone and clarity with notable differences in the mid and base levels. Base levels are much louder and mid tones are warmer and more filled out. The built-in preamp outperforms the one in my Yamaha RX-V685 receiver, which produced too much base. The built-in preamp is better rounded and keeps the levels evened out. The overall volume on either preamp is louder on the Fluance than the Heyday. Starting the vinyls is significantly easier on the Fluance as the tone arm stays in place fairly well as it is lowered and has a slow drop feature which were issues with the Heyday. The Heyday arm wiggled all over and had no aid in slowing the drop. Often starting the Heyday took multiple attempts to find the starting groove, the Fluance on the other hand has yet to disappoint and has found the groove every time. The Fluance comes with a rubber mat to line the platter, a welcome difference over the felt mat that came with the Heyday as after playing a vinyl the felt would stick to the back of the record and had to be peeled off every time. The rubber mat of the Fluance stays perfectly in place every time. The Heyday is capable of Bluetooth connection, something the Fluance is lacking but I feel is more of a gimmick as the sound clarity suffers heavily when compared to a quality analog cord and I was fine to lose the option. The belt drive on the Fluance seems rather powerful. During cleanings of the vinyls with an anti static brush, the Heyday would slow almost to a stop but the Fluance keeps muscling through. The only feature missing on the Fluance that the Heyday has is that the platter on the Heyday automatically comes to a stop at the end of the side of the vinyl, whereas the Fluance will keep spinning. This isn't a giant loss and is a mere inconvenience that has no overall impact on the performance of the unit. I am overall very pleased with the sound quality and performance of the unit and it has exceeded all my expectations. The piano finish adds a nice level of classiness!

Very nice turntable. The walnut plinth is very handsome.

I upgraded from a lp60x it's an amazing turntable for its price

This is the first review I have ever written on Amazon, but felt inspired to do so! I have conducted SO MUCH research into trying to find a turntable that was true quality but also halfway affordable. There are so many things to spend this money on in trying to make ends meet in our crazy world today, but it was time I treated myself. Music is excellent personal therapy for day to day dealing with what ails our culture. Treat yourself!

Upon unboxing and setup the speed was spot on and the stylus was dialed in too, sounds very beautiful.

Great product. It came pre set and after double checking was happy to happy to see everything was set perfectly.

I was comparing other turntables and watching reviews on the RT81. And for my purposes and what I was looking for, fit the bill. Yes the higher models have better motors and stylus, but I'm not knit picky like some audiophiles out there.I've heard people say to upgrade the stylus, but listening to my records the sound was excellent! Also I heard people complain about the rpms being too fast but it seemed perfect to my ears.I was gonna download and app on my phone to check the rpm speed, but that was overkill especially if the music sounded fine.Also I read about buying a preamp because normally built-in preamps on turntables are supposedly crap. So I did purchase a behringer pp400. I compared the sound with both and behringer did not improve the sound quality at all. What I did notice was that the behringer pp400 actually lowered the volume to my speakers. I thought it was supposed to increase the volume, but this was not the case so I returned the preamp. If you are worried about the built-in preamp, don't worry it's fine trust me.What I did invest in are a good set of RCA audio cables. The ones it comes with are pretty cheap and when I hooked it up to my speakers, there was a slight hum from electrical feedback. But that wasn't a real issue as once the music start playing, all you hear is the great sounding music.Overall, I can't say anything bad about it. It's a great turntable especially if you are just starting out. The quality and build of the RT81 is outstanding and I can say enough about how sleek and elegant it looks. Every one who sees and hears this turntable say they love it and are going to get one.You can't go wrong with the Fluance RT81 or any of their line of turntables...and it's built in Canada!!!

We've had our stack of vinyls & moved them around from home to home over the years without a turntable, however, 40 years later, we bought this turntable. Wish we'd of done it sooner as the hook up was easy & the sound is just amazing. We love it!

It's simplicity is great. I have a lot old albums. I researched this turntable. It's great. I wake up every morning and play an album. Nice addition to my day!

I got it for my husband's birthday it was easy to set up and love the quality of the sound. Of course he loved it

I've spent a couple months with this table. I was given a handful of vinyl by family and have not been disappointed! This meets my needs perfectly, and has incredible value, especially if you plan to upgrade components around it.

Installation of the platter, drive belt, and tonearm counterweight and anti skate adjustments were quick and easy & instructions were clear. I did have an issue when connecting the turntable to an Dayton Audio HTA100BT amp using the "phono" input and bypassing the internal preamp of the TT. Had a lot of hum and the left channel cut out. All worked fine after switching to AUX input and enabling the preamp. There is still a slight hum when the turntable is on but that is easily drowned out when an LP is playing. I have 10-12 hours of operation on the unit and no problems. Nice to be playing vinyl again after 30 something years.

Love the sound but the instructions on assembling the cartridge are very poor

Love this beautiful turntable. Easy to assemble. Sounds great!

Fantastic sounding turntable listened to differnet genras of music from clasic rock to more modern hip-hop all sounds great. Had a great experience with customer service agent Dawn, had an issue the weight stabilizer that whould not fit the spinal on the Turntable at all. Sent an email to customer service. Sent all pictures they requested and received a new weight within a week. Other than the price of the RT81 went down a couple weeks after I bought it. All is ex excellent.

Got this turn table with what you could say a cheap pair of speakers and it still sounds amazing! I bought it because it was on Vinyl Eyezz's top 5 best beginner turntables.

I should have purchased the next model up that provides arm return to position when the album is complete. This model is semi-automatic.

Well worth the price. For a run of the mill audiophile like me this turntable looks and sounds great. Researched a lot on lower cost players and am happy with my choice.

If you're an audiophile this probably wont impress you but i would still highly recommend for a beginner or someone on a budget. Great option for under $500.

I am more than satisfied with this turn table. It has an even better sound than I had anticipated. I hooked it up with my 70's JVC equipment with excellent results. I recommend it.

Shipped to NZ without a hassle and arrived in excellent condition. Excellent packaging inside the box and easy to assemble. For the exchange rate plus shipping, I could have bought another brand in NZ but I wanted a Fluance : )

Not a purist or aficionado on turntables so not sure what to expect but sounds good to me !

After numerous attempts following instructions exactly I am unable to correctly adjust tonearm & use turntable.

At first I thought I would be overwhelmed with the set-up but after a few minutes I was able to get it set up. I bought some $100 speakers and the sound coming out was amazing.

I got this one for my bedroom and the 82 for my living room which is much bigger. I mainly got this one for the wallet color which was sold out in the 82 and I figured I'd compare them this way. Slightly different rigs. This one has a Sony amp with old Pioneer 3 way speakers vs an onkyo with polk towers downstairs. Both rigs are excellent but slight advantage downstairs and I'd say the om10 is a slightly better cart vs the at95 but all in all these turntables are amazing. I played the first 2 sides of deloused in the comatorium on both tables. Sounds are Bouncing around the room. Om10 slightly prettier at95 slightly livelier. Both of these tables are amazing. One of my favorite albums really coming to life right out of the box. I've heard the at95 needs burn in time too so this really is a great cart. Both are beautiful tables and solid af. The walnut is definitely my favorite but the black is very classic and looks great. I'm switching from project rpm and technics which were also nice tables but I honestly think these are the best sounding tables I've ever had. Also upgraded both to acrylic mats. You will not be disappointed. I'd say go with the om10 but really both sound amazing.

Excellent investment and sound quality I am enjoying my music

Once I got the ground loop humming issue solved (I had to wire the ground to a cold water pipe) it worked perfectly. Easy set up, spins perfectly. Solid turntable!!!

My first turntable in 30 years. Couldn't be happier. I was worried about the setup, but the instructions were easy.

love this turntable. very sharp looking and it plays great. it does everything i need it to do. set-up was simple and i would highly recommend!

So much better sound than what I remember from college in the mid 70's. Playing thru a Denon AVR 790 and Klipsch KG4 speakers.

Love the quality & sound of Fluance RT81

Just what I was looking for. Haven't had a turntable in years and it is very nice to listen to good vinyl again.

This is great after 5 years of using a $100 Sony turn table. I'm getting better performance and I can change the cartridge. Setup took some time but the tactile feeling of playing a record and trac selection is excellent.

Be careful when auto-stop is on, the disc stops at the end of recording, but the tonearm does not rise.

gift

The vinyl record player added a special touch to my vintage home stereo system. The sound quality is amazing and the overall appearance look is a real head turn and great conversation piece.

We do not claim to be audiophiles by any means, but as newcomers to the whole vinyl revival, the simplicity of this turntable is perfect and the sound quality is impressive even playing through our old Panasonic receiver. It's nice that the turntable has a pre-amp. Easy to set up and easy to play, we were ready to go in a half hour. Please make sure you have the turntable cover snapped all the way into the holders or it will pop out when you are trying to close it. You could scratch your records this way. It has been fun finding old vinyl that is still in good shape and turns out to be very playable on this device. Thank you for a fine product.

This turntable looks good in the pics, but it's even better in person. Easy to setup and good quality components. Solid!

Purchased this for my daughter and she loves it! Very nice entry level turntable works well and is good looking. I started buying albums again and may purchase another for myself.

Build quality is excellent.

Does notnl work

My first real Turntable and I love it. The look, the quality and sound without breaking the bank. What is not to love

White piano color simply beautiful,this RT 81 sounds pretty good ,I'm using ortofon blue ,a better audio cables makes all the difference, acrylic mat,and record weight,the price is right and this color is new for fluance line up,I'm pretty happy,thanks Fluance keep doing the good job!!!

RT81 sounded good and looks beautiful but there's a few concerns.
*Cueing lever feels so flimsy and will probably will not last
*RCA cables are cheap, WTH Fluance!
*Speed was way off! I mean not expecting 33.3 but 33.78!
*Provision for the 45 adapter should have been thought out..

Looks great and is super easy to assemble. Beautiful sound quality.

I like it.

I'm a newcomer to the vinyl turntable experience, but can't imagine a better turntable. The build quality is excellent, and so is the audio quality. Having a built in preamp and auto-stop are great for me, but knowing that I can bypass the built in pre-amp down the road and upgrade to a separate one is awesome.

I like this turntable. It is well built and looks nice. The setup process was nice and smooth. The auto on/off feature is nice. I am not an expert in turn tables, so I can't make a lot of comparisons. After more research I wish I had spent just a little more money on an upgraded model, but I still think this is a really good value for my needs just starting out.

Sounds fantastic, I purchased the the turntable to listen to Vinyl LPs.

What an outstanding turntable! It's a gorgeous piece and the build quality is terrific. Not one aspect of it feels cheap or like it was neglected during design & production. Setup is a breeze and after the recommended 24 hour burn-in I'm thrilled with the quality of every record (new & old) I've played on it. This is an absolute steal for $250.

Sound is great! First record player purchase in decades.

I'm very happy with my RT 81. Looks vintage and classy and it really sounds great!

Great sound and easy to use.

Excellent set up and good directions. Really great sound! Can’t recommend enough.

First of all very well packaged. I’m dusting off my old vinyl collection and diving back in. I looked at a lot of turntables before pulling the trigger on the RT81. I am by no means an expert, but I did a lot of research before buying. I like the look of the piano black so I actually opted to buy the ‘used’ option from Fluance as the black was back ordered and $50 more than the Walnut finish when I ordered. Looks brand new and was packaged like it was brand new. Thought I would throw that in for anyone considering going that route. Saved me $70. No regrets from me going that route.I chose the RT81 because of the built in preamp and the option to override that if I ever expand my set up in the future. I plan on hooking up a pair of Sonos Five, but those are back ordered so right now rolling with some old speakers I had laying around. Still sounds outstanding. I’m heavily invested in a Sonos setup so I felt it was natural to hook this up to Sonos speakers.I also chose this as I am using in my bar area at home. I don’t have a ton of space so the ability to hook up directly to speakers with out a receiver, external preamp, etc was appealing.Set up was a breeze. Will likely upgrade the stylus at some point, but very impressed twitch the standard stylus. Tested the speed and it was about perfect, so didn’t even mess with it.I have no complaints. I would like if this was fully automatic, but the auto stop works as expected. I would like it if it returned the arm, but that’s not big deal. Had a few questions when purchasing and Fluance was outstanding in responding. 5/5 for me considering the price is very reasonable.

I did a fair amount of research, and then a good bit of hesitating on pulling the trigger on an all-in-one turntable option for the office at my new job. Finally pulled the trigger on at RT81 and couldn't be happier. Super easy setup via the printed directions and worked perfectly the first spin. The sound is wonderful and the build is very solid. Would highly recommend to an other!

Damage

I've enjoyed my RT81 with walnut plinth for over two years now - it is a quality, well-made turntable with a ton of good features. It can switch from 33 to 45 RPM with a turn of a knob (I have a few double LPs that were remastered at 45), and the auto-stop is, to me, a great addition. Initially, I was using the built-in preamp and the sound quality was very good. I now have it paired with a vintage Yamaha receiver (and they look amazing together), which is connected to my Sonos system. It's great to listen to records throughout the house. Two years in, using it virtually every day, I couldn't be any happier. One of my favorite purchases ever on Amazon. Highly, highly recommended.

I wanted to step up from the cheap all in one turn table I got a few years ago, but didn't want to break the bank. The RT81 was perfect. Built in pre-amp works great with my powered speakers. Pulling the turntable out of the box I could tell it was a solid build. Easy to set up (I am a novice at balancing a tone arm), I had it playing in just a few minutes. It sounds awesome, clear, good bass... well rounded. I've got a mix of older records and newer stuff and it all sounds wonderful. Some folks might find not having an automatic start as a draw back, but I'm ok with it, happy to save a bit on the cost but not sacrifice the sound. I do like the auto stop feature. I love playing records and I think the RT81 will serve me for quite a few years to come.

It’s very clean looking works really well and produces great sound, such an upgrade from my hand me down player

I bought this to digitize records. I only rip about 1 or 2 records per month. Started getting channel drop outs during playback. Tried different amps, cables, etc. The problem is the internal amp bypass switch in the back. Flick it back & forth a few times and the problem is gone......at least for a while.

So far, the Fluance RT81 has exceeded expectations. Assembly and calibration was very simple, even for a newbie to vinyl. For the price, I feel like this is exactly what I wanted. I am actually bypassing the preamp and using a vintage receiver and speakers. The sound is amazing.

Very pleased! This was an upgrade from my "getting back into vinyl" turntable. Easy set up. Walnut finish was out of stock when I originally went to order - definitely worth the wait - not only performs well, but gorgeous looking. Also, shipped and received two weeks earlier than originally expected - thank you Fluance!

What I like most is the sound reproduction is excellent however there is way too much feedback from the preamp so I had to turn that feature off. Overall I do like the turntable.

I made the mistake of buying a janky victrola a couple of years ago pre pandemic because I had a few boxes of yard sale 45 singles I wanted to play. Well we all know what happens then, so I found myself with a few nice records and a junky record player! This fluance is perfect for me, auto stop, preamp, rpm selector, queue lever, and a decent cartridge. All those other player options like automatic queuing and return are just fluff. If you can't handle moving the tonearm by yourself records aren't for you.I think it uses a lower class motor like the inexpensive turntables do, but the speed seems consistent, I haven't measured it yet. It is a nice looking player with some serious hardware where it counts. I wish you could upgrade the platter to acrylic like you can with the rt83, but it sounds very good as is.My only complaint is the included silicone rubber mat creates a lot of static, I've been trying to figure out how to reduce that without a lot of expense. I've only seen a couple of options. I am thinking grounding the player might be a good place to start, otherwise it's either a different platter mat or one of the anti static gizmos.

I think for the price I should not have to work so hard balancing the arm seeing if u need a preamp make sure of this ect. Just to much Robert

Looks good, sounds good. What more can you ask for?

Very satisfied with my new turntable the only thing I don’t like is you have to cue the record to start it and it does stop on it’s own but does not lift the needle and return the arm to the arm rest automatically you have to do it yourself

Was having a problem with a turntable in my living room due to skipping every time I walked by. Tried a number of remedies and finally decided to buy this one due to reviews that indicated it handled footsteps very well. Shipping was quick and packaging was very secure. Instructions very detailed and easy to follow. Looks great, no more skipping. Felt that with the included preamp it was a bit underwhelming. Bought the Pro-Ject Phono Box E preamp, bypassed the included preamp, and it really opened up and made it more dynamic. Fabulous sound!

I love my Fluance turntable! I did my research for the budget I was working with and Fluance was coming up in the top positions over and over. Gorgeous design and the quality is amazing. The set up was easy and the directions were spot on. My system sounds beautiful. Five stars all the way.

Just got my RT81 set up and holly hell it is beautiful, not only is the table it's self stunning but the sound is beautiful and warm. I'm in love with my new Turntable.

It’s a smooth turntable, but you need to read the instructions all the way through though to make it work correctly. Highly recommended Dubai.

Great turn table

An amazing record player for the price!

Extremely happy with the Fluance RT81 as my first turntable. Setup was pretty quick, only had the usual issues with the tonearm. It sounds magnificent & I love the way it looks. Great purchase for the price

I'd spent years trying to decide which turntable was right for me. I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on something that I knew at this phase of life wouldn't get used as often as I'd like. I also wanted something that not only sounded great, but looked great. This fit the bill. It was very easy to set up after watching the tutorial videos, and I've enjoyed both new vinyl and ones I've collected over the past few decades. I really appreciate the sound quality of both LP's and 45's. I would highly recommend.

Deliberated for a while what turntable to buy in the £200 - £300 range and eventually chose the Fluance. A little bit different, minimalist, but a touch of quality about it. Easy to put together. Nice solid plinth, absolutely no motor noise. The turntable revolves with no hint of friction whatsoever. Very good value for money

Such an incredible record player. Sounds is amazing and the craftsmanship is stellar. Takes a little bit to set up but if you read the instructions and follow them it’s not bad. This is definitely a step up from the two other players I’ve owned from Audiotechnica I’ve owned.

10/10 would recommend

Solidly made, easy to operate