Review Details

RT83 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Average Customer Rating:

Rating:
97 % of 100

RT83 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Rating
Overall Performance
100%

Product Review (submitted on June 21, 2020):

The RT-83 is the absolute best value for an audiophile-level turntable. In my opinion, it is the sweet spot in the Fluance turntable line, having the servo motor and Ortofon red. It is same as the more expensive RT-85 which upgrades to Ortofon blue and acrylic platter. It is lightweight, lovely to look at, easy to set up and a true bargain in the world of high-end audio. Okay, the white gloves are a bit much (not needed or used). I would rather Fluance included a paper or plastic alignment protractor with a pre-punched hole for checking the stylus. Of course, if you like the Ortofon red cartridge that comes with the turntable, it is pre-aligned and ready to play, so that's not really an issue for most folks. I kept looking for the belt in the packaging, but was unable to find it. Then I read the clear and simple assembly instructions and found it already mounted on the edge of the platter. Ingenius! Other belt-drive turntables make you reach through a hole in the platter and use a toothpick to stretch the belt over the idler arm in the belly of the housing. I was surprised again to find a miniature level in the package to help with the set up. Did Fluance think of everything? Not quite. There is no indentation or anything to signify placement of the 45rpm adapter, so I just set it on the corner of the turntable behind the tonearm. Of course, there is no automatic return of the tonearm. There is a feature that is supposed to turn off the turntable after 30 seconds or so of the stylus hitting the end of the record. I always lift the stylus off the record with the cue lever long before that feature kicks in, so I cannot verify that it works. It is nice to know it's there, however, lest I should fall asleep while listening. Once you manually return the tonearm to its plastic resting place, the platter stops rotating. To restart rotation, you have to manually move the tonearm over the beginning grooves of the record and lower it onto the record with the very nicely damped cue lever. This is old school true manual turntable, so It means up and down off the sofa during listening sessions. At my age, I count this as exercise. So I don't know if this is the best turntable for beginners who may prefer pushing a button and have automatic tonearm placement to start and auto return and shut off. The Ortofon red is a good tracking, nice-sounding cartridge which retails for around $100, which makes this package a steal. I prefer the sound of my old AT 440 MLa, so I purchased an extra headshell and now have the Ortofon as a back up all mounted and pre-aligned. To say I am pleased with this turntable would be an understatement. I highly recommend it. It makes me wonder if Fluance loudspeakers are as good for the price.

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