Fluance High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player with Dual Magnet Cartridge, Elliptical Diamond Stylus, Belt Drive, Built-in Preamp, Adjustable Counterweight & Anti-Skating, Solid Wood Cabinet RT81

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Product Specifications

Premium components allow this high fidelity belt driven turntable to a produce a pure analog listening experience that recreates the performance the way the artist intended
High performance AT95E Audio Technica cartridge produces outstanding clarity. The diamond elliptical tipped stylus is designed to track your record grooves with greater precision & accuracy for high definition audio
Perfect playback using the balanced aluminum S-Type tonearm ensures the stylus is rested deep in your record’s groove, producing every audio detail indistinguishable from the original recording
The beautiful walnut finished cabinet is crafted from solid audio-grade (MDF) wood, incorporates isolation feet, an aluminum platter, & a rubber slip mat which results in superior isolation from unwanted vibrations
Captivating signal clarity is produced with a high quality Texas Instruments preamp, ground terminal and gold plated RCA line outputs that ensures warm, true sound

Product Description

Color:Walnut (RT81)

Superior Stylus Makes for a Pure Analog Listening Experience Your music will sound richer when the Audio Technica AT95E stylus rests in the grooves of your favorite vinyl record at a mere 2.0 grams of tracking force. The upgraded elliptical stylus is renowned for its freedom from noise and distortion, clarity on musical peaks, and channel balance.

Complete Clarity Without Compromising Your Collection You’ll savor every note thanks to the balanced and adjustable counterweight of the S-Type tonearm. The fluid movement of the bearings within the tonearm coupled with the advanced anti-skating system practically caresses your record, preventing scratching and ensuring the stylus is perfectly rested deep in your record’s groove while splendidly coaxing the music out of your vinyl.

Designed for Serious Performance The walnut finished cabinet is crafted from solid audio-grade (MDF) wood which reduces vibrations to ensure the stylus provides the best possible signal. Sound isolation feet, an aluminum platter and a rubber slip mat significantly reduce reverberation, leaving you with pure stereophonic sound.

Premium Components Captivating signal clarity is produced with a high quality Texas Instruments preamp, ground terminal and gold plated RCA line outputs that ensures high fidelity sound in its truest form.

Cabinet Specifications Cabinet Material: MDF Finish: High Gloss Walnut Dust Cover: Yes - Tinted

Turntable Specifications Drive System: Belt Drive Motor: DC Motor Speed: 33 ¹⁄₃ RPM, 45 RPM Wow and Flutter: 0.2% Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Weighted): 67dB or higher (A-weighted, 20kHz LPF) Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Unweighted): 60dB or higher (unweighted, 20kHz LPF) Platter: Aluminum Diameter of Platter: 12”, 30cm Auto-Stop: Yes Turntable Mat: Rubber

Tonearm Specifications Tonearm Type: Static Balanced, S-Type Supported Cartridge Weight: 3.5 to 6.5g Anti-skating Adjustment: Yes Pivot Bearing: Yes Tonearm Material: Aluminum

Cartridge Specifications Cartridge Type: Dual Moving Magnet (MM) Catridge Model: Audio Technica: AT95E Replacement Stylus: ATN95E Stylus: 0.4 × 0.7mil Bonded Elliptical (Diamond) Cantilever: Aluminum Mount: Half inch Frequency Response: 20-20,000Hz Channel Separation: 20dB at 1kHz Channel Balance: 2.0dB or less at 1kHz Load Impedance/Capacitance: 47k Ohms/100pF Output Voltage: 2.5mV +/–3dB Cartridge Weight: 5.7g (+/- 0.5g) Headshell Weight: 10.7g Recommended Tracking Force: 2.0g +/–0.5g Vertical Tracking Angle: 20 degrees

Output Specifications Connector: RCA (Gold-plated) Preamp: Yes, PHONO/LINE Switchable Phono Output: 2.5mV +/–3dB Line Output: 140mV (–17dBV) Ground Terminal: Yes

Power Specification Input: 100V - 240V AC (50/60Hz) Output: 12V / 500mA Consumption: 1.5W

General Specifications Dimensions: 16.5” x 5.5” x 13.75” Certifications: FCC Certified, CE Certified, RoHS, CUL/UL Unit Weight: 6.4 kg or 14.1 lbs Operating Temperature: 5°C to 35°C

What’s Included RT81 Turntable Dust Cover 45 Adapter Rubber Slip Mat 6ft RCA Cable With Ground Wire 100V - 240V (50/60Hz) AC Power Adapter Quick Start Guide Lifetime Customer Support

Product Reviews

A fantastic turntable at this price point - truly raises the performance / price bar.

This and the walnut finish RT-81 may just be among the best values in a turntable on the market today. Let me go off-topic slightly, then I’ll get back to the turntable itself. I am very much NOT a newbie to vinyl. I was buying component turntables back in the 1970’s when those vintage turntables were new - so when I caught wind of these turntables as a Kickstarter project, I jumped on it as an earlybird as I really got a good feel for what I saw. Well I now have taken delivery and am very pleased with what I have. Let’s get into the turntable….Built quality as well as fit/finish is very, very good. I went with the polished ebony RT-80 as I had every intention to upgrade the cartridge (one difference between this as the RT-81), I was pleased with the felt platter mat and I was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ split on the walnut over solid base / plinth vs. piano finish over a hollow plinth. Both have the same arm, the same DC servo motor with electronic speed selection (vs. changing the belt position) and have a built in preamplifier that can be defeated. The platter is aluminum with a black finish, which matches the metal arm. All rests on compliant feet. The finish is truly beautiful!Setup was quick and easy, and I had the unit playing in a matter of minutes out of the box. Performance in every way is quite good by audiophile standards - this feels like a 1970’s turntable. Speed is dead-on with no detectable flutter and I heard no rumble at reasonable volume levels - and I was actually surprised at how good the base level Audio Technica AT91 sounds when in a good arm as it had no tracking issues at 2 grams and is quite forgiving of worn recordings that my other turntables honestly are not forgiving of. Sound is dynamic with a crisp treble and punchy bass - don’t dismiss this cartridge, especially if you don’t mind having a second high-end cartridge for those mint albums (which we often did “back in the day”.Only issues were a minor feedback issue that I suspect the slightly heavier RT-81 with it’s solid base might be more forgiving of, and I found that the auto stop takes several revolutions before stopping the motor. This turns out to be normal. A note that the phono preamplifier turns on when you select the speed - platter rotation is activated when you move the arm off the rest just as most turntables were “back in the day”.Overall I am very pleased, glad I backed this project, and it’s good to see a quality turntable that is a real audiophile product and not a DJ wannabee at a very good price. Outside of the walnut RT-81, the only real competitor would be the base level U-Turn Orbit at this price point. Everything else is either plastic or at a higher price point with very little added performance.

A lot of bang for your buck, but has one flaw…

I will preface by saying that for the price point you are receiving a lot of bang for your buck. The tonearm is superb, the Audio Technica cartridge is clear and mostly uncolored, the rubber mat is high quality, the base is solid and heavy (this is a really good thing), the built-in preamp is enough to get you started and enjoying your favorite records (although, I do recommend getting an upgraded external phono preamp as your next upgrade), and the turntable just overall looks fantastic. I love it!However, I did find that the turntable speed is not quite as stable as I would like to see it. I allowed it to “burn-in” for 48 hours running on the 33RPM setting and played a record, halfway through the sound became distorted so I went to check the RPM and found that it was spinning at ~29.8RPM. So I lifted the turntable and adjusted the speed using the trimpots on the bottom, but I just cannot get it to spin at a constant or acceptable mean average of 33.3RPM. I just measured it again as I am posting this review and it fluctuates between ~32.8-33.5RPM. Fluance does provide two trimpots at the bottom of the turntable to adjust the speed but it requires me to unplug everything and move it somewhere high enough for me to adjust, so far I had to do this four times. The speed discrepancy does not bother my wife, but I can tell clearly when listening to piano or orchestral pieces that the pitch and speed of the notes is fluctuating so it becomes a small distraction during focused listening sessions. I will say that I am using an iOS application to measure RPM and do not have another turntable around to test it’s accuracy, but from other online reviews I saw this seems to be an issue that is not isolated to me.After saying that, would I recommend this turntable? Absolutely. I checked the competition and did not find the same amount of value I found with this. From the cartridge, build materials, helpful Youtube tutorials (check out their channel), and aesthetics I don’t think you will find a better bang for your buck for the $200-$300 price range. While the RPM issue is distracting when listening to delicate pieces you do not notice it as much when listening to more modern “louder” records.PROs:- Looks great- Built solid- Quality tonearm and cartridge- Good sounding preampCONs:- Rotation speed not as accurate as I would like it to be- The adjustment for the RPM is located on the bottom and is hard to reach

Great Features but Terrible Wow & Flutter, Very Enthusiastic Customer Service

I wanted to love this record player. It had a great price. It had a solid, minimalist look, a counter-weighted tonearm, two speeds, plus auto-off! It was too good to be true.The motor has a very noticeable amount of wow and flutter. My 9 and 6 year old kids could hear it on their records. What a let down! Everything else about this player is bang for the buck. But if an elementary school kid can hear the pitch getting sloppy, what’s the point?Ironically, before this fault showed itself, I actually replied to a question on the listing page where someone asked why it didn’t have pitch adjust. I said because with a decent motor, only DJs should need pitch control!I returned it to Amazon, admittedly, and didn’t give Fluance a chance to make it right. Perhaps I just got a dud. If you buy it, I hope you get a good one!UPDATE ²⁄₂₀₁₇: I have added a star to this review because Fluance went an extra mile with their customer service after reading this review. I was contacted 3 times to ask if I was willing to work with Fluance to remedy the faulty turntable, one of which was after it was already back in Amazon’s possession. It was enough effort to make me regret returning it so hastily. If their fixes are as good as their outreach, I believe I would have a well-running Fluance turntable by now. Circumstances what they are, do make that an assumption, though.

A good choice in the price point

Works well and built great. Good choice for the price category. Very disappointed with no response at all from customer service though.

This turntable sounds great with my Sony amp

Have had this turntable a couple of weeks now. Did the 24 hour break in and have no issues. This turntable sounds great with my Sony amp. Very pleased with this purchase

Quality

Although I can’t claim to really be an audiophile, I would like to think I have a pretty good ear and to me this turntable marks the high point of music listening in my life up to…

I love music, but because of space and financial constraints

If you are an audiophile- this review is not for you. I love music, but because of space and financial constraints, I have this turntable hooked up to an LG soundbar, using the…

I use this all the time and am very happy with it

I use this all the time and am very happy with it. My favorite unexpected feature is the auto stop feature once the record ends. Very clutch.

Five Stars

Fantastic turntable for the casual vinyl listener. Setup is easy, I had it playing in ten minutes.

Speed issues and product motor defect

This turntable should be pulled from the shelves. I liked the look so I even bought it twice thinking the first time the motor had speed issues was a fluke.

Five Stars

Great price for the quality of turntable. Walnut looks fantastic and my records sound great.

great sound, beautiful exterior

I bought this turntable sight-unseen off Amazon. I was looking for several things in a turntable and this one had then all; great sound, beautiful exterior, S shaped arm.