Fluance RT85 Turntable

I decided to return the P2. It’s a damn good table, but the cartridge does hold it back sometimes on certain records. I found that 60% of what I played on it, sounded really great and the others were sibilant messes. For instance, on Death Cab for Cutie’s “Plans”, Ben Gibbard’s voice practically leapt out of the speakers in a way I’d never heard before. But on The Shins’ “Chutes Too Narrow” there was a fair bit of annoying sibilance on the final track. Also the fear that if I wanted to put a better cart on that table that wasn’t a Rega-branded cart would require me to use spacers, etc. Too much work, for just wanting to put a record on the platter and not have to worry about anything else and just enjoying the music. :-\

 

Sibilance? Where exactly? The ORG version of Nevermind sounds great IMO, the only part with a little bit of sibilance is at the beginning of "Something in the way". Maybe the cartridge wasn't properly aligned.

 

Yes, “Something in the Way” has it as well as “Teen Spirit”. The cart was aligned in the factory.

 

I may have dreamed it, but it seems like someone here reported that spacers weren't needed for the 95ML.

 

I contacted Fluance, they said that the overhang is 49...
I found that Pioneer is also 49 and I bought one of their overhang gauges to make life easier...

 

The Rega Carbon is the same height as the AT95 series.

 

So... I have the opportunity to spend the shiny $500 on a turntable...

Should I get an RT85 or not...

 

I would yes.

 

Love mine, I vote yes...

 

If you think putting a spacer on is too much work I would recommend streaming

 

Manage your expectations: you'd be getting a fairly cheap turntable with a couple of significant upgrades (the acrylic platter and the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge). You'll get something that will work well and will sound very good/excellent, but there are things about the table (the tone arm and the cue lever, for example) that will feel a bit cheap.

 

What other TT would you recommend in that budget...?

 

I just bought a RT-85 to use as my main turntable and I am thoroughly enjoying it! I think you should get one.

 

Looks like Fluance added a new color Lucky Bamboo. Seems to have a matte finish which I like over the glossy.

RT85 in Lucky Bamboo (New Color) : BudgetAudiophile

 

Isn’t that enough?

 

Ian wears me out, but he has a rather consistent opinion.

 

Having owned this for a while I can say that I disagree with some of the previous posters about audio quality. Maybe something else in the audio path? I've been listening to Spotify Premium through Toslink into an amp and then switching to the TT. Just back and forth on the song at the same exact portion. It's a subjective experiment but I still end up siding with Fluance. Though that's just on one album. Just love the drums. Next step would be to try Tidal lossless. I've done the side by side with Spotify Premium and Tidal lossless on 1 song and while Tidal is better, I'm not sure it's worth another $10 a month better. Maybe. I am replacing the crossovers and tweeters with titanium diaphragms in my vintage Klipsch speakers, so I'll test again with that. The previous TT testing was with modern Klipsch speakers and an AVR type receiver. Everything is going through a vintage path right now. Except the streaming, obviously through a DAC first.

Anyway, for someone wanting to spend $500 ready to go on a TT, I feel this table is still the one to beat.

 

Looks like Fluance now has a new RT85 model (RT85N) that comes with the Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge/stylus instead of the Ortofon 2M Blue.
Though they're similarly great styluses (with maybe the push going to the MP-110), the Blue is a lot more expensive, so weird that the the new turntable model costs the same with the less expensive stylus.
I think people can buy the one with the Blue, sell that stylus unused, buy the Nagaoka, and pocket about $100.

 

I recall one of the main selling points of this model, when it was released, being that it was a way to get a 2M Blue very cheap.

Are there maybe supply issues from Ortofon that have prompted this, I wonder? Or perhaps the Ortofon cartridges had been included because of a deal with Ortofon that has expired, and now their deal is with Nagaoka going forward?

 

The MP-110 is a bonded .4x.7 elliptical. The 2M Blue is a nude mounted .3x.7 elliptical. The 2M Blue should be superior sounding, especially on inner grooves.

 

Fluance is just packaging an OEM turntable with a cartridge at a price point, and I really do not believe there is any deep consideration of what the “best” cartridge would be to use with their turntable models.

If it was me, I’d be replacing either of those cartridges, anyway.

 

"should be", yes, objectively I guess, but, subjectively, most reviews and listeners give a slight edge to the MP-110.

 

There’s more than tracking ability at play in how a cartridge sounds, and, in this case, we’re comparing moving magnet to moving iron.

 

I would gave to question those reviews and reviewers objectivity. The main problem with the 2M Red is that it has a bonded stylus. The main benefit to the Blue is that it does not.

There is a vast difference between the sound signature of these two products.

 

I'm not talking about the Red (where did you even see that - it was never mentioned), I'm talking about the NAGAOKA MP-110.
Even on our forum here, the MP-110 seems to be preferred over the Blue by a fairly wide margin...

Needledrops: Ortofon 2M Blue & Nagaoka MP-110