I purchased the walnut finish version of this turntable. It is one solid good looking turntable. The walnut finish has a real nice vintage feel to it, and is a nice match to my old vintage (70’s) Yamaha receiver, which for me was one of it’s selling points. The first thing you’ll notice when unpacking this is how heavy it is. A very solid build, although not all real wood, it’s heavy duty !

Set up was very easy, and the instructions provided are clear and concise. After setting the tonearm balance and tracking force to 2 grams using the counterweight scale as per the instructions, I checked it with a stylus force gauge which measured 2.5 grams. I backed it off a little closer to 2 grams using the gauge as my final reference. Stylus alignment for me was bang on out of the box. This turntable does not feature a built-in strobe for checking speed, but using a turntable RPM app on my my phone, the 45 and 33-1/3 speeds were bang on, right out of the box. Speed adjustments are on the bottom, which is a little inconvenient. A built in strobe with topside adjustment would have been nice for when I might need to adjust it. I have an old turntable where the platter strobe scale is on the bottom side of the platter with a small window on the topside of the turntable. A mirror in the turntable body below the window allows for viewing, which is a very elegant non-intrusive design.

Using the phono out to a receiver, this turntable sounds great with the provided Audio Technica ATN95E stylus cartridge. Upgrading to another stylus (or whole cartridge) would be an easy option for down the road if you wanted to try and improve on the sound for your personal taste. One reason I got this was for a high quality product to transfer some vinyl into my computer. I used the internal pre-amp output to the computer's audio-in, and noticed when sampling that the waveform showed a sort of dampened/limited amplitude effect for the negative swing of the waveform. Using the phono out to a receiver pre-amp, then into the computer didn't exhibit this. So perhaps the pre-amp could be better, as others have suggested. Although I couldn't really hear the difference (with my aging ears), it just seemed odd. In the end I got a proper sound device for sampling - an ART USB Phono Plus Audiophile Computer Interface. Using the turntable phono out and this interface, the results with sampling into a computer were fantastic - cleaner than the computer sound card. As for using the turntable with a receiver, I would use the receiver pre-amp anyway. The phono interface cable is pretty cheap, but it's the same kind of stuff you get with every stereo device. A thicker gauge wire, heavier shielded cable is an easy upgrade.

The S-shaped tonearm is real nice. I much prefer the look of it to a straight one. The 3-way selector switch for 33-OFF-45 is nice and solid, but I probably would have configured it to an OFF-33-45 design. That way you're not cycling the power every time you change speed - which for me was quite a bit for sampling a number of different records. There is nowhere to really 'store' the 45 adapter, a small circular indent and/or a bit of a spindle like shaft at the back of the turntable body would have been nice. The smoked turntable cover is a nice touch, as opposed to a clear one. The tonearm lever is a bit tight to the tonearm - if you look at other models you can see they have addressed that, so maybe later versions of this one that are produced might incorporate that slight design change?

This turntable does not have any automatic cueing features. Although it would have been nice, it at least has an auto shutoff feature so when the stylus reaches the end of the vinyl lead out groove it won't run on forever. The stylus will sit in the groove with the record not spinning until you lift the tonearm to park it, at which time the turntable will come back to life and spin, unless you turn the power switch off first. The auto shutoff only stops the platter from spinning, the rest of the turntable is still powered, so there is an active audio signal out.

All in all, I am very happy with this turntable. It is solidly built, nothing seems cheap or clunky about the mechanisms. The walnut finish is very nice, and it sounds great. I noticed the price is the same no matter where you look to purchase, so I chose to order directly from the Fluance website to support the company directly, and also where you get free shipping and a $10 discount code pops up. Great value for the money - Highly recomended.

Purchased on Fluance's 20th anniversary celebration. The turntable arrived on time and was exceptionally easy and quick to set up. Love the prealligned cartridge. Ran tests on both speeds and passed with flying colours. This is an excellent entry turntable if you're on a budget. Attached to a Peachtree amp attached to Axiom speakers. Love it the sound.

Looks and sounds amazing, I did a lot of research and fluance gave the best quality product for the price. Also the shipping was amazingly fast, no joke!

Great overall turntable. Make sure it’s on solid fitting to help eliminate vibration and feedback. Overall look and sound is impressive for the price.

I wasn’t really in the market for a new turntable. I received a really cheap one as a gift a few years back and never really got into the hobby enough to justify upgrading. Then, I bought a $3 record at my local flea market with no visible major defects. After cleaning it, I popped it on my old turntable only to have both of my favorite songs on the record skip horribly. I decided then and there it was time for a serious upgrade. After doing some research, I decided on this Fluance model. It is GORGEOUS in person. I love the wood veneer finish and it blends in with my other decor seamlessly. The first thing I did after putting my table together and adjusting all the necessary parts was play that $3 record. And you know what? It played flawlessly, along with every other record I own. I am more than pleased with my purchase and would recommend to anyone looking to up their vinyl game.

I was upgrading from an entry level ATLP60. I researched many other brands before settling on the Fluance RT81.
The setup was a cinch, thanks to the very easy to follow guide that Fluance provided.
Once set up, I was completely blown away! The sound was spectacular! I couldn't believe what an upgrade I had made!
I'm still in the middle of my 30 day trial period, but barring some unforeseen event, I doubt I'll return turntable.
Thanks for such a quality, Canadian made product Fluance!

Beautiful and well made!

Professional quality and design at reasonable cost. Excellence service .

Professional turntable that is attractive and functional. Needle said to last 1000 hours "approximately two years" with relatively inexpensive replacement.

A professional quality turntable at a bargain price. Attractive looks. Easy setup. Needle said to last for 1000 hours with "inexpensive" replacement. Great customer service.

I have had the RT81 for 3 weeks now and I am so happy I made the purchase. It looks great and sounds great! I really like the sound of the AT cartridge that comes with it. For the price its a no brainer!

it was a great tt well above price. considering the atlp120? i would go for this one. super! performance i thought could never be achieved at this price but it has! fluance has blessed the vinyl community truly!!!

great tt for the price especially if you can even upgrade the cartridge to the likes of nagaoka and a seperate phono stage like the schiit mani the result is stunning! very low motor noise nice build hinged cover. The sound has substantial bass not the most nuanced but good on the more bassy side... midrange and treble: the midrange is quite good considering the price.the midrange /treble/vocals are occasionally sibilant but for the price overall...excellent. highly recommended.

I’ve got mine three days ago, and I absolutely love it! It’s beautiful; well crafted, it got quality parts, and the most important thing: it sounds stunning! The only thing that bothers me a bit is the cue lever: it’s too close to the tonearm. It’s easy to hit it accidentally. But this is a minor issue. It’s worth every penny.

Could not be happier with my re-introduction into vinyl. The Fluance community through their site and on youtube made set up a breeze, and I was enjoying my old LPs within 30mins of unboxing.