Review Details

RT81 Elite High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on May 19, 2022):

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!