Review Details

RT82 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on January 26, 2020):

First of all I'll start by saying. I can't fault a thing about this turntable, but marketing I think missed the boat. Everything works perfectly, and no question in my mind about the claimed specs. This thing is rock solid, and keeps time like a pulsar. Don't be shocked when it exceeds the recording standards on some older and lower quality pressings. I researched turntables for months before I bought this. In this price point it's the closest I found to a no compromise table. I only have one gripe about this. It's not just the Fluance line, it's most all of them. That marketing thing. I ended up buying this table because I picked up a Grado cartridge for my other table. The direct drive I have been happy with for years. If you have not heard the rumor that Grados hum on direct drive tables. I'm here to tell you they can. You would just start to notice it near the end of the last track. That's not gong to work for me. Out side of that, I love this cartridge, but I was going to need a belt drive. Now the truth be told, the Mll Red, and Blue are two of the cartridges I passed on before I got the Grado. So I picked up the RT 82 because I had my own cartridge I wanted to use. I had no want, or plan to use any they offered with this or, the 83, and 84. That's my gripe. Why doesn't Fluance (and some others) offer their tables with out cartridges? I know there are a bunch of us that have carts, and manufactures that we know, and use for our own reasons. I really do like this table a lot, but just kinda feel like I'm having a cartridge forced on me I really didn't want. But in the end, the Fulance, and Grado are an epic combination! To be fair, I only used the OM 10 it came with for about 10 minutes. Just to make sure everything worked. It sounded like a new cartridge that needs to be broke in. So I have no input as to how this table sounds with the Ortofon.