I gotta say, reading through these comments contradicts almost everything else I've read about these turntables. I have had my eye on an rt82 for a while now because of all the good things I keep reading about them. I've been doing lots of research into my turntable purchasing options and this model (walnut finish) has me the most excited. Not sure what dark corner of the internet these comments came from. I am sure there are better options if you are willing to drop more money but probably not for $299. Idk seems like a pretty solid turntable to me. Lots of other trusted sources say the same thing.
I came to the same conclusions as you and went ahead and purchased. Completely satisfied. I'm no audiophile, but I do know what sounds good. I think we get too wrapped up in the audio minutia and at the end of the day just want good sound for a fair price. This table delivers.
Have a look at the old Technics quartz locked turntables. Unless you go for an SL-1200, they're typically less expensive than an entry level model manufactured today, but they're better than most things on the market. Probably best to look for one with a standard cartridge mount.
@@233kostaI hear that. I am open to a good used Technics. However, I've been running used record players from Technics and Pioneer ever since I began collecting about 18 years ago. I currently run a Pioneer pl 200. It's a great turntable for the most part but it has some issues with it's speed control and wow and flutter. I've taken it apart, cleaned it and according to the manual, it's a no oil bearing direct drive, so no oiling was necessary, but still have issues. My feeling is that I'm 38 years old, have a couple hundred albums, been collecting for years now and will be into the future and I have never bought a new record player that only I have played. I do love a good Technics though, it's what I grew up playing records on. Kind of want both now lol
@@jeffreyboisvert1130 that's good to hear. I am keeping my options open at the moment but nothing is really 100% pulling me away from the fluance rt 82. There are just so many things I like about it. The price is really the most I can justify on this hobby of mine currently, it's also upgradable, looks fantastic, and seems to have a rock solid build quality and performance. I'm sure a Rega planar 1 would sound better but I just cannot afford a $500 record player. And I figure that maybe I can upgrade to a truly audiophile player years down the road and REALLY throw some money down on a high end Rega or something. But the Fluance rt series seems like a good fit for me personally. May be ordering one sooner than later.
The comments are coming from people that think they're audiophiles but probably have a Crosley. They are trying to compare this to the units they see here on RUclips but most cannot afford multi thousand-dollar units. I've been doing my research lately and I've been looking at the RT 83 ,project carbon and a couple others in that price range. I say go with your gut if you like the other reviews don't worry about the negative stuff on RUclips because somebody will find negative issues with a $15,000 turntable
Nice overview 👌 thanks ! Have you had any trouble with a grounding "hum" in the background ? I've read several reviews of the RT82 that stage there is a him that needs to be dealt with hence the 2nd grounding cable that came with the turntable. No other turntable comes with two, odd
Thoughts or experience with the Pro-Ject Debut Recordmaster USB turntable? The newer one with the 2M Red. I intend to listen in real-time via USB through my HTPC going straight through my Khadas Tone Board, this way I can use a high quality digital EQ (my custom speakers absolutely require the use of an EQ to boost bass).
I am 68 and the last time I had any stereo equipment was way...way..back in the early 1970's when I was in the U.S. Navy. I had a Dual 1229 Q turntable with a Shure M91-ED cartridge. I had it running from a Kenwood amp @70 watts RMS per speaker, a matching Kenwood tuner, and a couple of great sounding Lyric 3 way speakers. My life got real busy after I got out of the Navy and I never had the chance to upgrade anything ( why should I, what I had was a good system ), got married & had two children; working full time to support my family. I love music and was raised with music; Mother giving piano lessons from home, her teaching choir ( even had her as my choir teacher once ), and myself always in the school choir; really liking the acapella singing the most, listening to the great musicals such as Oklahoma !, South Pacific, Carousel, at home on the phonograph player ( there's an old term for 'ya..! ). With that background, I developed a good 'ear' for music; I can sing on pitch and keep time just fine and love hearing and singing along with the harmony part. But these days, all I seem to read and hear about; like here on RUclips, is the latest & greatest 'what-ever', and all of the technical specs, but I very seldom if ever, hear or read about the most important piece of gear...the Human 'ear'; how a person actually hears the music and the ability to hear the nuances of the instruments being played and the subtle harmonies. Many people are tone deaf and have a "tin" ear, and having a super expensive system won't help them one bit. They would be better off just buying a simple & inexpensive little stereo system from Amazon or Wal-Mart. Does it really require a multi-thousand dollar system to have great sounding music? Of course not, but that's what everything is about these days, isn't it...having the "best" equipment; the most expensive equipment, the ones with the best specs. My Lyric speakers were only..back then...about $100.00 for the pair. Thee was another guy in the barracks that spent a lot more money for the Advent 2-way speakers for his system. One day he stopped by my barracks room and I had an album playing; one that I knew he also had. I could tell that he was concentrating on something, so I asked him. He said that he was listening to the album and was hearing stuff that he had never heard through his more expensive Advent speakers. I had caught some flak for having my "cheap" speakers, but after that, I noticed other guys buying those same Lyric speakers. Ha...I rest my case..!!
What do you mean you rest your case? You didn’t make a case to begin with. It’s just ramblings about when you were in the Navy and listened to an album. I swear there is an entire generation of old people that buy the cheapest thing possible and then complain that “they don’t make em like they used to” just before going into a rant about the good old days. If you don’t care about quality why on gods green earth did you type out a short story here?
@@Ali_esam. and Vincent....don't 'ya just love the 1st Amendment; you can attack someone and not have to worry about the "thought police" coming to get you..!! But that's okay, if that made you feel better, then good for you, I sure won't lose any sleep tonight.
@@marbleman52Bring Back Lloyds.....maybe as an APP for your "phone".....something that simulates the wow and flutter and drop out and tape head change in the middle of your favourite song characteristic of a classic 8-tack player...the shitty frequency response and crackle of a 'Quality" lloyds home stereo.....something truly worthy to complain about ...and maybe the millennials might begin to understand old people ranting. lol
marbleman52 translation: “he’s right and I can’t refute it so I’ll just nonsensically mention the 1a and make an Orwell reference since that’s all my echo chamber political comments allow for.”
My pre compact disc turntable must have been reference. If was purely analog because digital was around and I played a record dropping down the needle my self. A lot of fun when I got around to creating WAV files of all my records and then gave up, made MP4's and to this day play the music on my iPod
I am using my RT82 with a DJPre-II preamp and the sound is great. So far so good. The sound from my internal Onkyo TX-NR787 phono was not good at all so I opted for the DJPre as a cost effective alternative to more expensive preamps.
@@JmieRUclips DJPre-II had a hum that I could not eliminate. I ended up getting a Schitt Mani2 that solved the problem. I am using my CD input on the receiver. You can use any of the inputs (CD, DVD, TV, Aux, etc.) except the Phono. The Mani 2 converts the signal to something that your non-phono inputs can recognize. I hope that explains it well. I am not too techy.
@@boristahmasian9604awesome. I am looking at pre amp and that stupid DJ one keeps coming up but I just know the Mani2 is the way. Unfortunately it's out of stocm
I noticed in the video that when showing the rubber isolation feet, one of the was cockeyed, looked to be extended too much? Best to start with them all screwed all the way in and then begin loosening them. I’m sure there are no stability issues, just didn’t look solid to me. Thanks for a great summary!
@@JoeOrber - My comment wasn’t about the length of the isolation foot, per se, but that it was not straight up and down. Looked a bit angled to me, which is why I commented that it might have been extended too much. I understand that the isolation feet are designed to raise and lower. I don’t have a yacht either. 😜
@@dannymcneal well, I think we'll need to get yachts and see how it works out then lol 😆 all jokes aside, I get your point, though I wouldn't go with all of them completely screwed in, maybe start at a third of the maximum out-screw position? I'm not sure if that's ever been a point of conversation on at what screw-in position to start with, or if that's even a thing, but yeah, they should be stablely screwed in nevertheless, and also hopefully the threads will be tight enough not to screw in overtime with excess vibrations, a lot of physics to consider here, but I'd rather deal with it than end up with a Crossley lol
Nothing against Fluance but Reference series, models, etc, is a term used far too often in the audio industry and many times simply not true to what the word reference would imply.
I like this turntable but it has a few flaws and one is the tone arm could have been built better and the dust cover and plinth are prone to scratches! Why I say the tone arm is because they use only one screw under the part you attach the head shell and it's just sloppy I mean by that it moves side to side some! At least mine does!
Wait, are you talking about the headshell-to-tonearm attachment? Or the cartridge-to-headshell attachment? If it's the latter you are missing a screw and the other one is loose. Regarding the dust covers, yeah, that's a common problem with most, if not all, of them; even a freaking feather or microfiber cloth will cause scratches, it's like they choose that on purpose, probably because if they select a sturdier plastic the cover will be too heavy to be kept open using the regular hinges
If you upgrade the cartridge to the Ortofon 2m Red, it's the RT83. Upgrade to the 2m Blue, it's the RT84. Upgrade the platter to acrylic, and it the RT85.
I'd suggest just upgrading to an Om20 or OM 30 stylus as it will fit the same cartridge body..much improved soudn quality and I prefer those over the 2M series anyday.
@@brody4145 I swear I looked at standard cartridge adaptors for this, but regardless, even the best sounding cart in the world is worthless when you're playing at the wrong speed and get audible wow&flutter. The AT85EP I've been using is more than adequate for my needs, but I'm sure it's nowhere near "high end". Of course since my original comment, Audio Technica have released a couple of quartz-locked entries (clones of the excellent Technics SL-1200), so hopefully the rest of the industry will get back up to date on all this '80s tech that's been sorely missing. Innovation is building on the existing foundation, not rediscovering that analogue speed control isn't very good.
Your explanation of "reference" doesn't make much sense to me. Whether a turntable's audio output has gone through a phono preamp or not, it's still a "pure analog signal". A phono preamp is an analog circuit.
From what I can gather...the Ortofon 2M Red is basically the same as the OM10...just in a newer dress!!! Certainly the RT82 onwards are better than the RT80 and RT81 because of the motor. The RT82 would be my personal choice. Pity they don't do gloss white!!!!!
"Reference" is pure PR,but it is actually a pretty decent entry level turntable by todays standarts. Still its not good enough to reach proper serviced oldies of the same class from back then.
There is A LOT of turntable that has no pitch control and are very good tables. When there is no pitch control, it means that a chip make sure the thing is turning 33,33. Try a Rega Planar 3 table without pitch control, download an app for turntable RPM and try it, you will see how acurate it is...
@@martinproteau8971 Good idea in theory, but [on low-torque belt-driven platters] the weight of the phone drags the platter and slow the speed just a little, so you're still not going to get an accurate reading anyway. Best method is the strobedisk. Again, I prefer my turntables to have pitch control and that's just me, because I don't trust factory settings (why would you?). But then again, I have more than one turntable (both of which do have pitch control) so I can pretty much get a third one that doesn't. Heck, I'll even consider a Crosley suitcase - if only to play 78s and fix skips. - Red
Pro Ject is overrated garbage. I've replaced two "high end" turntables of theirs for basic faults, one having skipping, anti skate issues and cartridge misalignment.
I gotta say, reading through these comments contradicts almost everything else I've read about these turntables. I have had my eye on an rt82 for a while now because of all the good things I keep reading about them. I've been doing lots of research into my turntable purchasing options and this model (walnut finish) has me the most excited. Not sure what dark corner of the internet these comments came from. I am sure there are better options if you are willing to drop more money but probably not for $299. Idk seems like a pretty solid turntable to me. Lots of other trusted sources say the same thing.
I came to the same conclusions as you and went ahead and purchased. Completely satisfied. I'm no audiophile, but I do know what sounds good. I think we get too wrapped up in the audio minutia and at the end of the day just want good sound for a fair price. This table delivers.
Have a look at the old Technics quartz locked turntables. Unless you go for an SL-1200, they're typically less expensive than an entry level model manufactured today, but they're better than most things on the market. Probably best to look for one with a standard cartridge mount.
@@233kostaI hear that. I am open to a good used Technics. However, I've been running used record players from Technics and Pioneer ever since I began collecting about 18 years ago. I currently run a Pioneer pl 200. It's a great turntable for the most part but it has some issues with it's speed control and wow and flutter. I've taken it apart, cleaned it and according to the manual, it's a no oil bearing direct drive, so no oiling was necessary, but still have issues.
My feeling is that I'm 38 years old, have a couple hundred albums, been collecting for years now and will be into the future and I have never bought a new record player that only I have played. I do love a good Technics though, it's what I grew up playing records on. Kind of want both now lol
@@jeffreyboisvert1130 that's good to hear. I am keeping my options open at the moment but nothing is really 100% pulling me away from the fluance rt 82. There are just so many things I like about it. The price is really the most I can justify on this hobby of mine currently, it's also upgradable, looks fantastic, and seems to have a rock solid build quality and performance.
I'm sure a Rega planar 1 would sound better but I just cannot afford a $500 record player. And I figure that maybe I can upgrade to a truly audiophile player years down the road and REALLY throw some money down on a high end Rega or something. But the Fluance rt series seems like a good fit for me personally. May be ordering one sooner than later.
The comments are coming from people that think they're audiophiles but probably have a Crosley. They are trying to compare this to the units they see here on RUclips but most cannot afford multi thousand-dollar units. I've been doing my research lately and I've been looking at the RT 83 ,project carbon and a couple others in that price range. I say go with your gut if you like the other reviews don't worry about the negative stuff on RUclips because somebody will find negative issues with a $15,000 turntable
Nice overview 👌 thanks ! Have you had any trouble with a grounding "hum" in the background ? I've read several reviews of the RT82 that stage there is a him that needs to be dealt with hence the 2nd grounding cable that came with the turntable. No other turntable comes with two, odd
Thoughts or experience with the Pro-Ject Debut Recordmaster USB turntable? The newer one with the 2M Red. I intend to listen in real-time via USB through my HTPC going straight through my Khadas Tone Board, this way I can use a high quality digital EQ (my custom speakers absolutely require the use of an EQ to boost bass).
How was the motor speed right out of the box?....33 and 45? did you have to make any adjustments?
Thanks!
hi! sir, can i use fluance SX6W high definition spaekers in this model (fluance rt82)? thanks
That Alabama Shakes album is great. Can't imagine how it sounds on some decent speaker setup
What’s the headphone stand that he’s using?
Play it my high end head phones had been ready❤
How are you supposed to ground it?
I am 68 and the last time I had any stereo equipment was way...way..back in the early 1970's when I was in the U.S. Navy. I had a Dual 1229 Q turntable with a Shure M91-ED cartridge. I had it running from a Kenwood amp @70 watts RMS per speaker, a matching Kenwood tuner, and a couple of great sounding Lyric 3 way speakers. My life got real busy after I got out of the Navy and I never had the chance to upgrade anything ( why should I, what I had was a good system ), got married & had two children; working full time to support my family. I love music and was raised with music; Mother giving piano lessons from home, her teaching choir ( even had her as my choir teacher once ), and myself always in the school choir; really liking the acapella singing the most, listening to the great musicals such as Oklahoma !, South Pacific, Carousel, at home on the phonograph player ( there's an old term for 'ya..! ). With that background, I developed a good 'ear' for music; I can sing on pitch and keep time just fine and love hearing and singing along with the harmony part. But these days, all I seem to read and hear about; like here on RUclips, is the latest & greatest 'what-ever', and all of the technical specs, but I very seldom if ever, hear or read about the most important piece of gear...the Human 'ear'; how a person actually hears the music and the ability to hear the nuances of the instruments being played and the subtle harmonies. Many people are tone deaf and have a "tin" ear, and having a super expensive system won't help them one bit. They would be better off just buying a simple & inexpensive little stereo system from Amazon or Wal-Mart. Does it really require a multi-thousand dollar system to have great sounding music? Of course not, but that's what everything is about these days, isn't it...having the "best" equipment; the most expensive equipment, the ones with the best specs. My Lyric speakers were only..back then...about $100.00 for the pair. Thee was another guy in the barracks that spent a lot more money for the Advent 2-way speakers for his system. One day he stopped by my barracks room and I had an album playing; one that I knew he also had. I could tell that he was concentrating on something, so I asked him. He said that he was listening to the album and was hearing stuff that he had never heard through his more expensive Advent speakers. I had caught some flak for having my "cheap" speakers, but after that, I noticed other guys buying those same Lyric speakers. Ha...I rest my case..!!
What do you mean you rest your case? You didn’t make a case to begin with. It’s just ramblings about when you were in the Navy and listened to an album.
I swear there is an entire generation of old people that buy the cheapest thing possible and then complain that “they don’t make em like they used to” just before going into a rant about the good old days.
If you don’t care about quality why on gods green earth did you type out a short story here?
Vincent Pellegrini Maybe cause he’s old? Old people love to rant 😂🤷♂️
@@Ali_esam. and Vincent....don't 'ya just love the 1st Amendment; you can attack someone and not have to worry about the "thought police" coming to get you..!! But that's okay, if that made you feel better, then good for you, I sure won't lose any sleep tonight.
@@marbleman52Bring Back Lloyds.....maybe as an APP for your "phone".....something that simulates the wow and flutter and drop out and tape head change in the middle of your favourite song characteristic of a classic 8-tack player...the shitty frequency response and crackle of a 'Quality" lloyds home stereo.....something truly worthy to complain about ...and maybe the millennials might begin to understand old people ranting. lol
marbleman52 translation: “he’s right and I can’t refute it so I’ll just nonsensically mention the 1a and make an Orwell reference since that’s all my echo chamber political comments allow for.”
My pre compact disc turntable must have been reference. If was purely analog because digital was around and I played a record dropping down the needle my self. A lot of fun when I got around to creating WAV files of all my records and then gave up, made MP4's and to this day play the music on my iPod
I am using my RT82 with a DJPre-II preamp and the sound is great. So far so good. The sound from my internal Onkyo TX-NR787 phono was not good at all so I opted for the DJPre as a cost effective alternative to more expensive preamps.
What input did you use on your receiver with the pre amp? Thank you
@@JmieRUclips DJPre-II had a hum that I could not eliminate. I ended up getting a Schitt Mani2 that solved the problem. I am using my CD input on the receiver. You can use any of the inputs (CD, DVD, TV, Aux, etc.) except the Phono. The Mani 2 converts the signal to something that your non-phono inputs can recognize. I hope that explains it well. I am not too techy.
@@boristahmasian9604awesome. I am looking at pre amp and that stupid DJ one keeps coming up but I just know the Mani2 is the way. Unfortunately it's out of stocm
What happened to your guys twitter?
MosTechHelp huh, yeah it's suspended
I noticed in the video that when showing the rubber isolation feet, one of the was cockeyed, looked to be extended too much? Best to start with them all screwed all the way in and then begin loosening them. I’m sure there are no stability issues, just didn’t look solid to me. Thanks for a great summary!
@@JoeOrber - My comment wasn’t about the length of the isolation foot, per se, but that it was not straight up and down. Looked a bit angled to me, which is why I commented that it might have been extended too much. I understand that the isolation feet are designed to raise and lower. I don’t have a yacht either. 😜
@@dannymcneal well, I think we'll need to get yachts and see how it works out then lol 😆 all jokes aside, I get your point, though I wouldn't go with all of them completely screwed in, maybe start at a third of the maximum out-screw position? I'm not sure if that's ever been a point of conversation on at what screw-in position to start with, or if that's even a thing, but yeah, they should be stablely screwed in nevertheless, and also hopefully the threads will be tight enough not to screw in overtime with excess vibrations, a lot of physics to consider here, but I'd rather deal with it than end up with a Crossley lol
@@JoeOrber - I’m game! 😂
do you have to buy the wire separate ?
The earth wire? No, comes with it.
Nothing against Fluance but Reference series, models, etc, is a term used far too often in the audio industry and many times simply not true to what the word reference would imply.
It implies you can build it however you want. No pre amp. No BT. Solid base and tone arm.
I like this turntable but it has a few flaws and one is the tone arm could have been built better and the dust cover and plinth are prone to scratches! Why I say the tone arm is because they use only one screw under the part you attach the head shell and it's just sloppy I mean by that it moves side to side some! At least mine does!
Wait, are you talking about the headshell-to-tonearm attachment? Or the cartridge-to-headshell attachment? If it's the latter you are missing a screw and the other one is loose. Regarding the dust covers, yeah, that's a common problem with most, if not all, of them; even a freaking feather or microfiber cloth will cause scratches, it's like they choose that on purpose, probably because if they select a sturdier plastic the cover will be too heavy to be kept open using the regular hinges
Can this turntable cartridge or platter upgradable?
Yes
If you upgrade the cartridge to the Ortofon 2m Red, it's the RT83. Upgrade to the 2m Blue, it's the RT84. Upgrade the platter to acrylic, and it the RT85.
This is a nice cartridge. Just update the stylus for more performance.
I'd suggest just upgrading to an Om20 or OM 30 stylus as it will fit the same cartridge body..much improved soudn quality and I prefer those over the 2M series anyday.
I realize Im kind of randomly asking but do anyone know of a good site to stream newly released series online ?
@Eduardo Zayn Flixportal xD
@Jerry Landon thanks, I signed up and it seems like a nice service =) Appreciate it !
@Eduardo Zayn happy to help xD
What the difference between this and the 81
The main difference is the cartridge - RT 80 and 81 use Audio Technica cartridges and the RT82-85 use Ortefon cartridges.
You don’t have to manually adjust the speed
Also belt isolation from the motor with the belt on the outer edge of the table.
The biggest difference is that the 82 has no pre-amp, enabling a better motor (by economics at this price point). And the cartridge.
Still waiting for a modern turntable that gets even close to my old Technics SL-QD33
Nobody cares.
@@sergiozl10 Clearly you do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
the om10 that comes with this sounds better than 80% of p-mount carts
@@brody4145 I swear I looked at standard cartridge adaptors for this, but regardless, even the best sounding cart in the world is worthless when you're playing at the wrong speed and get audible wow&flutter. The AT85EP I've been using is more than adequate for my needs, but I'm sure it's nowhere near "high end".
Of course since my original comment, Audio Technica have released a couple of quartz-locked entries (clones of the excellent Technics SL-1200), so hopefully the rest of the industry will get back up to date on all this '80s tech that's been sorely missing. Innovation is building on the existing foundation, not rediscovering that analogue speed control isn't very good.
this fluance has a servo motor that is similar to a quartz lock. obviously not as good but it still lowers wow and flutter quite a bit.
Your explanation of "reference" doesn't make much sense to me. Whether a turntable's audio output has gone through a phono preamp or not, it's still a "pure analog signal". A phono preamp is an analog circuit.
Another review that does not mention bearings or motor quality and isolation.
From what I can gather...the Ortofon 2M Red is basically the same as the OM10...just in a newer dress!!! Certainly the RT82 onwards are better than the RT80 and RT81 because of the motor. The RT82 would be my personal choice. Pity they don't do gloss white!!!!!
Just upgrade the OM 10 stylus to a 20 or 30...
they do now!
Missing preamp so they labeled this as "reference" to make it sound fancy and grab your money... should be $150 at most
"Reference" is pure PR,but it is actually a pretty decent entry level turntable by todays standarts.
Still its not good enough to reach proper serviced oldies of the same class from back then.
Oh, still no pitch control huh? No thanks...
Buy an SL-1200. Quartz locked, with pitch control that won't fuck up your normal playing speed.
Doesn't need one. The speed is servo controlled and sampled 500 times a second. Any adjustments needed are on the fly and imperceptible.
What for? If you want a DJ turntable, you came to the wrong place. I don't know/never owned a turntable with pitch control.
There is A LOT of turntable that has no pitch control and are very good tables. When there is no pitch control, it means that a chip make sure the thing is turning 33,33. Try a Rega Planar 3 table without pitch control, download an app for turntable RPM and try it, you will see how acurate it is...
@@martinproteau8971 Good idea in theory, but [on low-torque belt-driven platters] the weight of the phone drags the platter and slow the speed just a little, so you're still not going to get an accurate reading anyway. Best method is the strobedisk. Again, I prefer my turntables to have pitch control and that's just me, because I don't trust factory settings (why would you?). But then again, I have more than one turntable (both of which do have pitch control) so I can pretty much get a third one that doesn't. Heck, I'll even consider a Crosley suitcase - if only to play 78s and fix skips.
- Red
Wow, this review cannot be less helpful. It's just "rt82 is reference..." repeated over and over.
I wouldn't describe this turntable as 'audiophile'. Pro-Ject has better entry level tables that come far closer to that definition.
Have you heard the Fluance in person?
Major stack probably not, i have a pro ject turntable and is garbage.
Pro Ject is overrated garbage. I've replaced two "high end" turntables of theirs for basic faults, one having skipping, anti skate issues and cartridge misalignment.
Oh come on there’s nothing reference about that pile of junk 😂😂😂
What would you recommend sub $300 then?
@@adamzeigler2599 nothing this guy is an audiophile
Depeche Mode lol
Stop lying.