Review Details

RT82 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on February 26, 2022):

Being inside more, I longed for music that feels more like an experience and more tactile than just skipping through playlists. I have a few records that I bought because I loved the albums, but just had them on display. It was time to hear if they sounded differently than their digital counterparts. So I did some research and decided on the Fluance RT82 turntable, the Suca Audio preamplifier (about $50) since the turntable doesn't come with a preamp, and the Edifier S1000MKIII powered bookshelf speakers which work with the turntable but also can take other inputs and can stream my playlists over bluetooth. Listening to Spotify sounds great on the speakers, but listening to John Coltrane, The Feelies, and Neutral Milk Hotel on vinyl really perked up my ears. Even my wife and kids noticed the difference. My 12 year-old wanted to put on the next record and now my 14 year-old wants her own vinyl copy of Olivia Rodrigo's Sour. The biggest difference my ears can perceive is the space between the notes; a record like Crazy Rhythms takes its time to unwind. I started to recognize how compressed mp3s sound in that there's so little silence. Whereas listening to the vinyl, I can really picture the musicians playing those notes--the drumstick being pulled back before crashing again upon the high hat. Back to the tactile part of the turntable--there's a little lever that lifts the arm. When I first moved the cartridge into place, flicked the lever back down, and watched how slowly and smoothly the needle dropped toward the spinning vinyl all through the perfect balance of the counterweight, I knew I made the right purchase.