This looks like another fantastic turntable by Fluance. I have the RT85 and I couldn't be happier with it. I have the 2M Blue cartridge and my gosh does it sound good to my ears. I've never used a Nagaoka cartridge before though so I was curious to hear what it sounded like in comparison to the 2M Blue. Really nice video as always, Record-ology.

I've hear nothing but awesome reviews about this turntable. So enjoyed this Review, the best.

This is making me reeeeeealy want a fluance... So cool that they're working with you. Great job with the ambient sound too! Having a separate preamp, coupled with a great cartridge really makes a difference in sound quality. It's great to see you can get an awesome turntable that's still (somewhat) affordable. P.S. the shots of the Nagaoka cart on the vinyl were beautiful!

Nagoaka MP110 is the best cartridge I've found in the $150.00 range. Found via a you tube video from a guy in Tokyo Japan. The video, if you want to search for it is entitled something like "cartridge shootout" He compares 10 carts all in the $75 to $150ish range. He plays samples of each cart to the same music, then explains why the Nagoaka comes out on top. I agreed with him, and then i bought one. Very happy with it!

I purchased the rt-81 last year as my first turntable for my new vinyl journey. I have it hooked up to my yamaha receiver and klipch 2.2 fronts and a polk audio 12" sub. I have been very happy with the player, people comment on the quality look. I may now move it to my office and purchase this one for my main listening space.

Wow, what a nice surprise. I had no idea Fluance had done this neat trick of the N version. Also amazed that they are holding the line on price. No one else seems able to do it.

I've owned this model since the day that the bamboo finish was launched. In my opinion the "new" cart is not an upgrade. I highly recommend their record weight as well. For the simple benefit of using a fine carbon bristle brush. Sometimes the LP will spin slightly without using the weight. I know you're not meant to put too much pressure on the brush. However it happens on some warped vinyl. The feet are definitely adjustable on the model I own. Best bang for the buck all things being equal. Diminishing returns are a thing. Power cables are not. Burn in is not necessary! Get a Schiit Mani for crying out loud. Speakers are pristine vintage Boston Acoustics CR9. Amp is Sony STR-DG510. Schiit Freya+ Preamp will eventually be added , already own two Vidar. -✌🏼

I know this a year old. But did get this turntable with the blue ortofon. I love it. It is amazing. I do also enjoy your channel and how you keep it simple and bring all to vinyl collecting and not judging 1st timers.

Yes! It’s an outstanding turntable. It’s very well made, the feet are adjustable and the sound is incredible as long as one is using a good quality phono preamp. I don’t have this cartridge as mine came with the Ortofon 2M Blue. This turntable is a great value. Great video!

Those MP-110's are SOOOO good at playing through any scratches a record may have. I love mine for playing old used vinyl.

This was an excellent review of this unit, makes me sway to maybe purchasing one....😊😊😊

This is a really nice-looking turntable! I think the challenge would be to keep dust and fingerprints off with regular use in a regular environment. The Nagaoka cartridge sounds really good and warm, it would be interesting to verify with a test record to see how it responds to the crazy frequency tests compared to other cartridges, all of them on the same TT and preamp. Thanks for the in-depth review!

The Ortofon 2m Blue is about $240 on its own. The Nagaoka MP 110 about a hundred dollars less. It will be interesting to see if the RT 85 with the MP 110 comes in at a lower street price than the standard deck or not.

sounds great - I have the RT85 with the 2m blue and love it

I’ve always heard the MP 110 compared to the Ortofon 2m Red, not the Blue. This is probably because both the 110 and the Red have a bonded stylus. Since the 110 doesn’t have a nude stylus like the Blue, you would think that Fluance would have gone up the Nagaoka chain to one that has a nude stylus. But it always comes down to money. The 110 is simply less expensive than their higher tier counterparts. The 110 is as of the date of this writing, $140 on up; the Ortofon Blue is $240. So they saved approximately $100 retail in switching to the 110. And since they bought in bulk, it probably cost them less than that. I can’t help but wonder if this is a response from Fluance to the serious supply issues that Ortofon has had due to the pandemic. If you don’t believe me, just try to find an Ortofon Blue stylus. They’re practically non existent anymore. Yes, they still sell the RT 85 with the Ortofon 2m Blue. But I wonder how much longer they’ll be able to do that. Time will tell.

Thanks for including a direct feed sound recording. It's very much appreciated.

I had an RT85 with the Ortofon Blue for a few years and loved it. I sold off my collection and turntable a year or so ago. I've been thinking about getting back into it though. I always loved the Ortofon cart, but if the Nagaoka is better, I will certainly try that this time.

That sounded impressive through my system considering the compressed nature of a KZfaq video. This really got my attention. I WAS completely content with my Kenwood KD5070 turntable w/ the Pickering XV-15/625E cartridge, until now. Thanks for the video.

Would love to have one of these, they're a beautiful looking and more important sounding record player. However there's no way I can even afford the basic Audiotechnica right now due to the economy and both my elderly parents have gotten sick and so I had to quit work to care for them, my dad who was a US Army veteran passed away due to brain, lung and adrenal cancer in August and my mom's not doing very well either. So these turntables would be like a dream come true to me, and sadly the prices keep rising as I've seen videos from about a year ago saying the entry level AT's are just $100 and now that's closer to $150+ everywhere I look. Still thanks for the review as it gives us all a chance to see them and hear them. I tried checking to even find a Target Heyday turntable because they have good reviews and were cheap but Target no longer carries them. I'm stuck with a Victrola suitcase player for the time being and foreseeable future.

Another really great and informative video, as usual. I enjoyed it very much ! 😎👍

I have a mighty SL1500C (Technics) + Ortofon 2Mblue, and it delivers.... But I've been hearing so much about the RT85........ Might as well get/test/keep it. 😊 Great review, thanks

I have heard both the 2m blue and the mp-110 and I'd take the Nagaoka any day of the week especially with that Jelco headshell. In fact I have 2 mp 100s I have used for mixing, soon as I need a replacement I'm going to get a 110 stylus since they use the same body. (edit) It's not the Jelco headshell that usually comes with Nagaoka carts, my mistake.

Nagaoka! They are just good. Thanks for the nice review. Fluance certainly makes a nice turntable.

Great review as always. This gadget sounds amazing.

Late last year I had to replace my Denon DP300f. My research included watching several KZfaq reiviews (Vinyl Rewind, Channel 33 RPM, Cheapaudioman, etc.) which all highly recommended the Fluance RT 85. I bought the RT 85 with the walnut base and Ortofon Blue cartridge. I agree with you and all the other KZfaqrs, this is an excellent turntable. This is a well engineered turntable with all of its parts working harmoniously. I had an Ortofon Red cartridge on the Denon and the Blue cartridge has a more lush sound to my ear. I was happy to see that the anti-skate works perfectly and is calibrated correctly. Listening on my headphones, there are some albums that truly astound me with this turntable. My two nitpicks are the cheap feel to the tonearm cueing level and the auto stop, which takes too long to engage. The RT85 is a definite keeper and I can recommend it highly to anyone who has $500 to spend on a turntable.

Very nice! I have been wanting to see one of these in action, thanks for the video. This may be may next table when my AT-120LP dies.

I have the Monolith by Monoprice turntable, from a few years ago. It seems like they used the same OEM, as Fluance. The plinth looks nearly identical, along with the speed selector dial and the tone arm lifter. My unit came with an AT-100e and I managed to snag it for something like $150. I'm quite happy with it. Incidentally, I had the same impression about the dust cover clamps. I kept thinking: "I must be doing something wrong, since these really seem like they are going to break."

Interesting the positioning of the Nagaoka MP-110 in the Fluance cartridge line up by the folks at Fluance... IMHO, the Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge would actually sit between the Ortofon 2M Red and Ortofon 2M Blue. The Nagaoka MP-110 (0.4 x 0.7 mil elliptical bonded diamond stylus) is not an upgrade to the Ortofon 2M Blue. If anything, it's a fair competitor to the Ortofon 2M Red. You have to go up to the Nagaoka MP-150 (0.4×0.7ml Elliptical Nude Diamond stylus) for a fair comparison of "like for like" with the Ortofon 2M Blue. You then have to go to the Nagaoka MP-200 (Boron - 0.4 x 0.7ml Elliptical Nude Diamond stylus) for an actual "upgrade" over the Ortofon 2M Blue. Not sure what the Fluance marketing folks are playing at with this cartridge offering? Interesting...

Nice review and unboxing. I would get this if I had $500. Maybe in future. Enoch Light sounds good too.

A good review of a quality product. Looks-wise, the black model bears a lot of simalarities to the ATLP7 which I am currently using. I had the Blue on a previous turntable which was ok but when I tried on the AT, I found it to be a bit harsh. I had heard that this was also the case on the Fluance and considering that, changing to a warmer cart at around the same price point was actually a pretty good decision. I would recommend this TT in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a high entry level product. Thx! Edit:. I love that acrylic platter!

The Fluance RT line are all identical in terms of the plinth. The entry level RT-81 has a built in pre-amp, doesn't have the speed controlled servo motor, as well as the feet and tone arm are standard. From the RT-82 up they all have speed controlled motor, better isolation feet, and better tonearm assembly, but no internal pre-amp, otherwise the differences are mainly the included cartridge and platter combination, but functionally they are identical, so you could essentially upgrade the cartridge and platter on an RT-82 to the Ortofon Blue or MP110 cartridges, and the acrylic platter, and it becomes an RT-85.

Did you know that if any turntable has a 3.5mm jack on it you can technically record any record onto a DVD using a 3.5mm to RCA audio cable by plugging the RCA end into the RCA jacks on the front or rear of any DVD recorder or DVD recorder VCR combination unit which is awesome because you can put more music onto DVDS because you put several hours of music on the DVD versus 80 minutes on a standard audio CD

I enjoyed this video. I have the Fluance RT82 which came with the Ortofon OM 10. Since then, I've upgraded to the acrylic platter and in another year I'll likely purchase a different cartridge. It would be great to see comparisons done between the 2M Blue and Nagaoka MP-110 to help people decide whether the RT85 or RT85N sounds better to your ears (or the same). I regret not buying the RT85 over the RT82 as it would have saved me a lot of money in the long run.

Record ology your new Fluance RT -8 5 n turntable is awesome my friend 😅😅😊

Dude...! RT85!!!! Might be my next TT. 👍

Thanks for another great video. Fluance clearly make excellent turntables.

Had to return my 85 , platter was making grinding sounds. Pulled out my old Pioneer & worked like 1978

You cannot use the Ortofon cartridges because Fluance does not have any VTA adjustment, which is why you have to order either the Ortofon blue or the Naggy 110. If you ever want to change the cartridge you have to find cartridges that are made like the Naggy so you don't have to adjust the VTA. The Fluance series of turntables does limit you with cartridge selection, but it is a fantastic turntable, I do wish Fluance would not limit our choices, I can't imagine that adding the VTA feature would cost more than $10 to add!

Record ology I learn a lot from about bying new and used turntables my friend 😅😅😊

Bring matte back! I can't stand dust, fingerprint and scratch magnet gloss black on anything. If they would make a matte black version, I'd buy one. Nice review. Thanks.

I bought one from amazon last winter. Sounded good. I recently bought a fossi phono pre-amp for it now it sounds amazing. The cartridge aliment was spot on I run with 2&3/4 gram weight on the cartridge I would like to upgrade the cartridge at some time.

I did the acrilic upgrade on mine and it threw off the Vta , had to add an acrilic 2.7mm matt on top to level the vta back out,as the vta is not adjustable. The upgrade was worth it because the aluminum platters ring like crazy.

Awesome review…fluance TT is great for the money I have the rt80 and RT85

Funny, I have been trying to get a copy of the Enoch Light demo album that you use (Future Sound Shock) and the more you play it, the more it goes up on ebay.....I just looked and a nice copy goes for over $50!! Ebay sellers must watch your channel LOL

This RT-85 seems like a decent-enough basis to justify upgrading the cartridge/stylus away from elliptical towards microline or shibata. And once you go there, you'll never turn back.

If I had 5 bills to lay down on this I would fer sure .... Very good review ... Thanks

That platter and tonearm look amazing!

16:46 Yes, I want my records to become one with nature... I mean, the platter! The higher the damping of a platter the better - there's no such thing as overdamping.

Something that a lot of people don't realize with the Fluance RT85, you're essentially buying a $250 turntable just like something like the LP-120x. I would even consider the LP-120X to be a better built turntable, but the LP-120x lacks on things like a premium platter and a premium cartridge. The reason why the Fluance is around $650 CAD is because of that ortofon 2m blue cartridge which is over $200, and the acrylic platter which costs far more than the basic aluminum platters that you get with most turntables. Always keep in mind, the manufacturer has to make profit, so they would never give you a $500 turntable lets just say, and provide you with a $200 cartridge and $100 acrylic platter for $700. Fluance cut some corners on the overall build of the turntable, and while I think it's a beautiful system, it just didn't feel as robust and high quality as what you'd find on a technics 1200 for example. How I looked at things, is that you can't really upgrade the actual TT unless you're replacing it, but you can certainly replace the parts. When I went into my local music shop the owner had an LP-120X with the ortofon blue cartridge upgraded as well as an acrylic platter mat. It sounded exactly the same as the fluance RT85 which I also tested out. I may not have super audiophile ears, but I am a musician for over 15 years, and my ears could not pick up a drastic difference to justify the price. So I ended up going with the LP-120X instead, and upgraded the cartridge before leaving the store. I have an acrylic platter on the way from amazon that I am excited to open. Plus with the LP-120X I didn't have to spend over $100 on an external pre-amp. It all adds up lol

Nice vid and review! Don't be so upset about having just two speeds. Who uses 78 rpm anyway? You need a whole different stylus for that!

If you want to keep dust and fingerprints to a minimum put a coat of Johnson Wax on it. You can buff it to as high a polish as what it looks and wax naturally repels dust. While ordinarily I like Fluance for their speakers, I'd really like to like them for their turntables as well but until they make an automatic one, no matter how good they sound I'll look at those as one step above a Victor Victrola since they don't need to be wound up and have a needle changed after every record.

RT85 v/s AT LP L7? Dust off that bad boy and pit it against the fluance - it would be a close battle!

Very thorough and informative. Thanks!

I found this Fluance video to be very influential

Just bought it with the 2M Blue. Very happy with it. Grado Prestige 3 Blue or Red are a great combination with this TT. I would love to see a review with those cartridges in the RT85. U.S company... Could be the best replacement value cartridges. Run $125-$180 individually or head shell mounted. You can get them cheap at LP Gear. Specs on them are hard to beat at those prices. Had a p mount on my old Technics SL QD33 until it died. Fantastic sound! I bought a P Mount adapter for it. Hopefully the VTA doesn't become a problem.

I liked this turntable so much that I bought a second one!

Nice looking turntable. It'd be interesting to see how accurately the cartridge alignment was set at the factory. There's a lot of room for adjustment on that headshell.

Beautiful Deck and i agree about the Smoky dust covers, i hate the clear ones👍

Great review, thank you!! I'm torn between the Fluance RT85 and the U-Turn Orbit Special. The Fluance doesn't require me to mess with the belt to change speeds and comes with a better cartridge for the same price, but no built-in phono stage, which the U-Turn has. Tough decision!!

I bought the RT85 for a nice price and my $500 dollar turntable sounds as good as my bros $3000 project RPM9 carbon, (although his turntable looks cooler). If I decide to upgrade to the new N-cartridge I probably end up in audiophile heaven.

Id buy the Rega P1 over any fluance turntable anyday

The feet on these models are adjustable! That is why the give you a bubble level!

Awesome 👌 👏 👍 I want one of those

It is a very nice turntable. But I would like to see Fluance offer at least an automatic arm return feature.

Fluance is AWESOME 👌 I'M thinking about their ai61 with their db 10 sub woofer WOW!

You mentioned that the cover lid is very difficult to install. Does that equate to being difficult to remove for playing? I've always been told to remove the cover for playing as it might negatively color the sound. Great video!

Did I hear you say you have the Fluance powered speakers? I just got the AI41 last week and oh boy what a rush! Nice table with the popular NAG cart. I have the Fluance RT82 table.

I never use a slip mat with an acrylic platter, unless I need to change VTA by using mats.

I can't believe that in the these days of minimal turntables that no one has thought of designing a 33.3 only turntable. Most people only play albums and it would cut out a whole load of unnecessary stuff in the signal path

Thank you. I watched closely and looked up the specs for your RT85N. The belt may be fine replacement for my 36 in belt which I could not find (but don't need -yet- ) for my discontinued TEAC TN570. The Fluance is so close in form, such as very similar S tonearm and counterweight. The platter and belt may be the same overall size . I purchased mine last year and the 2 models of the line are discontinued and was very unhappy TEAC did not list specs for belt and seem to be unreachable. I measured my belt at 36 in with tiny possible error, and your Fluance spec lists the belt at 36.1 in. I hope they will sell me one; that size is very hard to find.

After doing some research, it seems the major drawback to the 85N is that you're kind of married to the Nagaoka cartridge because of the heightened tonearm tailored to it. The Fluance webaite says something like, "cartridges with similar specifications might work, but no guarantees as to quality." How upgradeable/changeable do you think the cartridge actually is? If not, are you in love with Nagaoka enough to stay with her forever?

Nice review! Can you make a video about the pro-ject debut Carbon evo? I am doubting about buying one…

So the only thing new is the cartridge and a for it adapted height of the tonearm. What this deck needs is a q-locked drive and a better tonearm with VTA adjustment.

hey buddy awesome show on one turntable I will probably never be able to afford it so I'm living vicariously throughh you sound I hear you on the plastic clip the I just bought a Coca-Cola portable turntable from Amazon and I was trying to lock the door I'm in place and thee plastic clip broke off I'm going to return it and get my money back I wish they would use metal clips for those thanks

This is awesome, really appreciate you sharing! Also, not saying this is the answer, but i wonder if the plastic clip is used so you can't scratch the tone arm. I'm sure any scuff could make a difference in audio quality.

That ban (previous message) includes all government employees and their communication devices (during work hours) as well as the buildings.

Very nice deck....if it were fully auto with a repeat option... it would be a must have.

I have probably sent a dozen emails to Fluance telling them that they needed to work with you. Looks like they really came through!

You need a better mm preamp. That mp-110 would really benefit from a better preamp.

Awesome turntable, whats the title of the song and the album played?

2m blue is still better imho

Dig the intro.

Hey!!! New Sub here! Since you are one of the FEW people I have see review an Audio Tecnica AT-LP7 AND the RT85 which would you recommend more highly? Cheers and LOVE the channel!

Hi, specially like the test drive at the end! May i know what phono u use? and which tube phono will u recommended that has synergy with Nagaoka cartridge? many thks :)

very nice!

Obrigado por compartilhar sua experiência, Lindo Toca discos, o upgrade na agulha foi bem acertado, parabéns e obrigado, quem sabe encontro por aqui. gostei muito do samba também, tocou muito bem, faltou somente um pouquinho de grave mas está 100% Tks amigo.

It's going to be really hard to review the next Crosley after this...

Nice video, but I disagree, of course a matter of my taste, the 2m Blue is the flag ship, not the nagaoka. My RT85 is the Bamboo, and I do love it, a great turntable.

@rRecord-ology. looks like you have had the RT85n for about a month now, and wanted to know if you have noticed a demonstrable difference in the sound quality, clarity etc..when listening to LP's then with your AT-LP3? Also, did you ever upgrade you cartridge on the LP3 and if so did it help?

That’s awesome

would love a head to head between this the RT85N and the Music Hall Classic - BTW, I'm not a fan of the matt black tonearm. I'm old school.

how would it sound if you swapped the audio technica with the Nagaoka and see if it sounds the same way

New daily driver? Take care...

What would be a good preamp for this one?

Does the auto stop lift the tone-arm at the end of play?

A bit of an odd question but what is the clearance between the top of the plinth and the bottom of the platter?

hi, how are you? in your opinion, what is the difference between the fluance RT 85 with that blue cartridge to that one RT 85N?

The MP110 is how they kept the price down...The Blue is almost $250 by itself.....

They surely beat that FLUANCE cardboard box good prior to arrival... 😅

does anyone know if I could buy the mp-110 and put it on my rt-81? Im still a noobie so I could use some input