Fluance RT81+ Review - Superior Entry Level Turntable?
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- čas přidán 22. 07. 2024
- Canadian-based audio brand Fluance has earned a reputation for packing unbelievable value into its products. In particular, the RT81 brought exceptional value to anyone seeking to kickstart their vinyl hobby or jump back in after re-discovering a long-lost record collection.
The RT81+ adds an acrylic platter mat, adjustable feet, and Audio Technica's new AT-VM95E cartridge to Fluance's popular affordable turntable offering.
Could the RT81+ be the best-value entry-level turntable on the market?
Resources & Links: (AAL = Amazon Affliliate Link):
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Fluance RT81+ (AAL):
geni.us/fluance-rt81plus
Schiit Mani 2 (AAL):
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Full Fluance RT81+ Review:
www.yoursoundmatters.com/flua...
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Great to the point review. Bravo.
Much appreciated! 🎶🎧
I have the RT82 and upgraded the cartridge to the AT-VM95ML and acrylic platter. Very pleased with this.
Sounds great. Nice upgrades :) - happy spinning
I like the acrylic mat I bought on line. The suppled felt was a dust collector, rubber mat sounded subdued. . Great review, nice table for price.
Thanks for watching. Yea, I'm not a fan of rubber also. Wipped that off my Technics from day one!
I have the rt 81 + and I love it
Great stuff! Enjoy the music 🎶
Hi Mark, great review of the Fluance. I had an Ortofon VMS10 back in the day and the house sound of Ortofon back then was certainly one of treble forward with bass being tight but recessed. I’ve used the AT VM95E on an entry level turntable and found it really well balanced with a nice dynamic punch.
In fact, Audio Technica were chosen by Linn to make their entry level moving coil cartridge, called, would you believe, the Koil! It’s of virtually identical spec to the OC9XSL, which is the one I went for. Very good it is too.
The only suggestion I would make is to remove the plastic washers which Fluance have fitted to the headshell. They’ve done it to make sure they don’t damage the headshell while fitting the cartridge in the factory, but they will do no favours to the coupling of the cartridge to headshell, which should be tight. Not destroy the cartridge body tight, just tight enough to allow the energy in the cartridge to be transmitted into the arm.
Thanks Mark. Interesting stuff about Linn and AT.
It makes sense to me that the plastic washers would absorb some of the energy and create inertia.
Your comments are always very insightful - thanks and happy spinning!
I would like them to come with a larger plinth next😊
Hi Mark, great interesting video, love the wood finish, all the rt range looks good and have great reviews , I have rega planner 3 only I had rega in the past , regards Mark
Cool: the Rega P3 is a great deck too. A different beast. Enjoy the music and thanks for watching
Would the acrylic platter make a difference in sound compared to the rubber that came with the table?
Thanks for the review. Your affiliate link takes me to what looks like an older version of the turntable with different feet and what I assume is a rubber platter. I’m struggling to find your reviewed version of the RT81+ in the UK at all, and I’m not paying the extortionate shipping fees from Canada! Any news on when this version will be available?
Sorry about that. The link re-directs to the most relevant page in whatever country you're in. I'm not sure when the RT81+ will hit Amazon UK, but I will ask them for you.
If you'd rather not wait, the RT82 is actually about the same price and does have the advantage of being more "upgradable" - platter, etc. You'll need an external phono stage though. Here's an affiliate link for that model: amzn.to/3sLfFuC
Any other questions, do let me know! Enjoy the music.
Great review. How is the sound quality in regards to the bass? I have a very cheap turntable at the moment and the sound quality is lacking in almost every area but the lack of depth and bass are the most significant issues.
Thanks for watching. I would say the bass performance was a strength with this deck. It’s got real weight.
Nice vid. I'm torn between this Fluance and the U Turn. Maybe I can't go wrong with either. I'm biased to the U turn cuz they're made down the road from me in Woburn MA.
Thanks for watching. Both have a good reputation. Sadly I can't run a u-Turn in the UK does to the power transformer. I'd need to converter. So at this stage, I can only give you my experience with the Fluance decks, which I think are excellent for the price.
Funny enough, I live quite close to Woburn in the UK, which is probably where Woburn MA gets its name from.
Maybe I missed it but what about tracking weight and anti-skating adjustments? Does it have fine tuning mechanism to calibrate speed?
Hey - thanks for watching. There is an anti-skate dial, much like a Technics deck, which you can adjust based on tracking force as a starting point. I then use a test LP to fine tune.
Speed calibration is possible. There are some screw-driver adjustable dials on the underside of the deck. Fluance have a video on how to do this:
czcams.com/video/RQOQQ5NaSRU/video.htmlsi=hl7A9q4_xaASHC70
Hope this helps!
I'm thinking of getting the RT-82, can anyone tell me if I should purchase the preamp from fluance, with the turntable? They have the option, for 100 dollars, to include a preamp for you, but i dont know if they give you a good one, or should i find a better option? It doesn't really say what they give you just the option to add one for $100
I believe they mean this:
www.fluance.com/pa10-phono-turntable-preamplifier
Which I haven’t heard directly, but being a Texas Instruments phono chip, will probably be similar sounding to their built in phono stage on the RT 81
Hope this helps!
Would you say this is a good upgrade from the AT-LP60XBT, or are they pretty comparable to each other? Keeping in mind that I don't really use the bluetooth function and probably wouldn't miss it.
In your case, I would go with the RT82 if you have the budget to get an external phono preamp. If you'd prefer a built in phono pre, then the RT81+ is a great buy. Given that, as you mentioned, you wouldn't really miss the Bluetooth
But with the built-in pre-amp, will it interfere with the sound quality at all if you turn it off?
No, you can choose to use it or not, if not you'll need to use amp with integrated preamp or an external preamp.
Would have liked to hear how comparable this is to the U-turn entry offerings.
The U-Turn models have had a bit of an upgrade recently. I'm hoping to review one
Completely new to this, with this model I do not need speakers.. am I understanding that correctly?
No worries. Welcome! You will need speakers for this. The easiest way would be a good set of powered speakers. It has a built in phono preamp (this turns the small output of a turntable into a standard line output level). Fluance actually make a set of powered speakers you could use with this model. Hope that helps
Wait can you add an external preamp in the future to this even though it has one installed
Yes, of course. The built in preamp can be bypassed. Thanks for watching - hope this helps.
Where can I buy this model in UK as can only find the rt81? Thanks Ian
I'm surprised this hasn't hit the UK Amazon site at least yet... I will ask for you and come back with an ETA or availability
So when it comes to the 82 and this 81+ which would you think is the better option?
Sorry for my slow reply on this. I think it depends if you want the convenience of the built in phono stage. If not, then the 82 is more upgradable and may last you longer before you want to seek an upgrade.
I have a rt 82 with the same cartridge since I don’t like the sound of the om10 that came with it. Way too bright to my ears. I’m upgrading to the ml stylus soon. Also getting the art dj pro 2 helps even out the sound of the vm95e even more and it’s well balanced
Thanks for commenting. Many people do find the Ortofon cartridges bright for their taste. Glad to hear the Art pre works well. Happy listening!
Would you recommend this turntable for converting vinyl to digital? Looking for a solution with great quality without losing the vinyl's dynamic range. Thanks!
Thanks for your comment. Depends on your budget I would say. If you can stretch to the RT-82, then you have more upgrade options and the motor is supposed to be better. I’m hoping to review the RT82 soon.
Pair the RT-81 with the right phono preamp and audio interface, though, and there’s no reason it couldn’t deliver a good vinyl rip 🎶🎧
Sounds good! I'll check out the RT-82 and keep an eye out for your review. Thanks!@@soundmatters
@@soundmatters🎉
What budget phono preamps would you recommend with the RT-82?
Schitt Mani 2 is a good shout. There’s a review on my channel 🎶🎧
You may look at rhe fosi box x2, it's $100 USD and performs well
In your opinion, Should I just go with this RT81+ over the RT82 since its saying that I need a pre-amp for the RT82? I'm leaning more towards the RT81+ since the pre-amp is already provided and built in that way I won't have to pay for an extra piece of equipment. I owned a Victrola Eastwood since December of 2023 but then it started slowing down my records so now I'm eyeballing other options. I ordered an "el-cheapo" record player off of Amazon today as a sort of trial-and-error player to hold me off until I buy a higher end one but I'll be returning it tomorrow considering that the quality was horrendous. I heard the longevity of the Fluance turntables are outstanding but at the same time I'm hearing people saying to choose the RT82 against any RT81 turntables. I'm honestly unsure of which vinyl player to choose.
I think it really depends on how much you want the internal phono preamp vs how "upgradable" you want the turntable to be. The RT82 has a better motor that is also better isolated; you can also upgrade later to an acrylic platter (this is not possible on the RT81).
They've definitely closed the gap a bit between the two with the "+" model, so I get your dilemma here.
If you're willing to stomach the additional cost of an external phono preamp, the RT82 has a clearer upgrade path, so is less of a dead end for you.
I hope this helps. Any other questions, fire away!
@@soundmatters Thanks for the speedy reply I'll keep this in mind!! Also one more thing, What is your opinion on the Audio Technica turntables like the LP120X and the LP140XP for example and how do you think it compares when going up against the Fluance RT82? Still having trouble deciding between an AT or a Fluance but I'm not entirely sure on which turntable to "pull the trigger" on.
What is the RT81 Elite? Is it the same as the Plus?
RT81 Elite is the model number for both. So this is the RT81+ Elite. Hope this helps. I can see the confusion here. Happy spinning and thanks for watching
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Sadly, your link to Amazon UK doesn't work. Maybe it's out of stock from the supplier.
I had someone else say the same. I think Amazon UK are not stocking this just yet. I’ll ask Fluance
How much does it cost? The Amazon link takes you to radios and antennas and not the turntable.
Where are you based? It’s a link that relocates based on your local Amazon
@@soundmatters the UK.
It’s probably not available on Amazon in the U.K. just yet. It almost certainly will be in the future
Where did you buy this? Can't find it anywhere in UK.
It was a review sample. I don't think it's made it over here quite yet. I was thinking it would have at least hit Amazon UK by now. It was brand new when I did the review. I'll chase the brand for an ETA for you
The question is? This one of the audio technica?
Depends on your priorities and which Audio Technica deck
There are a few more buzzwords from the hi-fi journo's arsenal.
It's "damping" not "dampening"
Did you understand what he was saying?