FluanceRT80 Classic High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player with Audio Technica AT91 Cartridge, Belt Drive, Built-in Preamp, Adjustable Counterweight, Solid Wood Plinth - Piano Black

The media could not be loaded. This is the best vinyl player in this price range hands down! It looks like a 300+ dollar player. The dampening legs make it have such clear noise and the audio technica needle is great. The mat would be better as a vinyl or plastic one to reduce static but that’s my only complaint. So easy to put together and has a 33 and 45 speed. Super adjustable and never skips, I have never had an issue with this player after almost a whole year, and it came almost a whole month early!

I've got a bit of a story to tell about this record player, but for those needing a quick "is this any good?" the answer is "Oh yes, this record player is great."So my parents had been holding onto all these old vinyl records from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Mostly Beatles and Elton John LPs, and a handful of other stuff, as well as a few 45s. Also, they had a little Sony stereo that had L/R channel RCA input, so all they were missing was a turntable. I spent some time (almost 6 months) searching for the best turntable in my price range (~$200 to ~$300) that had stereo RCA output, a clam shell cover, and multiple speed settings. I discovered a lot of trash, and learned to avoid Bluetooth, integrated speakers, portable record players, and other unnecessary gimmicks. However, removing those aforementioned gimmicks left me with record players as expensive as $1000 or more, so i cut out the need for multiple speeds and voila, Fluance RT80 Turntable appeared. Which, strangely, has 2 speed functions! I bought it and got it delivered just in time for Christmas. Now, I'm a 20-something, never even handled a vinyl record before. So when I did all the set up and breaking in, I had to learn a ton of stuff, and it was nice to connect to my parents with something they cared a lot about growing up. Then, the time came to unveil this thing, and was very surprised by my parents love of this machine. Remember, they grew up in the 60's, graduated highschool in 75, and went to college in the 80's. They really now record players, and the quality of sound blew them away. They remarked about the lack of static, lack of needle bump, the auto stop feature, and even the mere fact that they could hear it in crystal-clear stereo. It's being used for hours everyday with no problems, and the sound quality just gets better and better, as we try and listen to all these records that hadn't been played in decades.Now, to talk more about the turntable itself. Its not to heavy, easy to move around, but it has enough weight that it feels good. There is some assembly required, but the instructions walk you through it. Also, you need to "burn in" the record player for 24 hours before you really set it up, it helps get everything settled in from shipping. The turntable is glossy black, with a clear black-smoked plastic clam shell that covers the entire top of the machine. It has a built in amplifier, which can be turned off if need be. It has 2 speed setting, 33.5 and 45 rpm, an auto stop feature, and an anti-skate control. The tone arm needs to be balanced before use, and is a rather precision instrument. the drive is very quiet, and operation is very smooth. Everything from putting the tone-arm down to setting the speed is as easy as easy gets, and, just to reiterate, smooth. the only real "demerits" are that the supplied cord are rather short, the auto-stop doesn't always work, and that they only painted the top part of the metal plate the record sits on.All in all, at the time of this posting (2/2/2019) this turntable is an absolute joy, 10/10, would buy again.

As an audiophile who has worked on turntables for decades, I think that gives me some credibility to review this and the Fluance line of tables. First, I already have the RT85 (their top of the line table) and love it. I ordered this one (the RT80 ) as a second table for a garage setup. Here is what you need to know.The models are almost identical in build with the main differences being cartridge supplied for each and at the top of the line, acrylic platter and the other models with a rubber mat vs the felt mat for this modelFirst things first, you will want to toss the felt mat and go with rubber. Felt means static charge, not good for turntables. YOu dont need the acrylic platter but it is more inert. Here is the link to the Fliuance rubber mat - $20https://www.amazon.com/Fluance-Turntable-Platter-Rubber-Black/dp/B01JSWK3FC/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_1/138-0325850-7546427?pd_rd_w=MGQ2v&content-id=amzn1.sym.c5d38d29-85f1-4890-b060-e1fa7ed665b7&pf_rd_p=c5d38d29-85f1-4890-b060-e1fa7ed665b7&pf_rd_r=Y0CAGHMZWCG3KX01BP9R&pd_rd_wg=kek16&pd_rd_r=40123bef-74cc-43ca-aabd-11203c373115&pd_rd_i=B01JSWK3FC&psc=1Now the cartirdges. My RT85 came with an expensive (relative) Ortofon blue which sounds awesome yet; never been a fan. I put my AT 440ML on it and it is amazing - The Ortofon is going to go on THIS table over the AT91 it comes with. So what should you do ?The AT91 is a good solid budget cartridge but very very low end .I highly recommend upgrading to a more robust Audio Technica (you can even get them premointed as the headshells just screw on and off)For $195 you can get the Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML/H with headshell which would be superb on this table but if thats over your budget (would put total table, mat and cart cost at $421), you can go with the AT 95E/H - Link here for $99 with headshellhttps://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-VM95E-Turntable-Headshell-Cartridge/dp/B07JLX1JZ7/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1CI5RUPWZ172M&keywords=audio%2Btechnica%2Bcartridges&qid=1681264812&sprefix=audio%2Btechinica%2B%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&th=1So why upgrade ? Well, the Cartridge is going to make a MAJOR difference. Or just move to the RT81 and you get the mat and better cart.In summary, what I am saying is the table is pretty awesome and if like me, you HAVE better carts, you can go budget and self upgrade. Thats the beauty of this table. I could literally put a $500 cart on it and it would perform like a $1500 table. Speed is spot on, auto stop is flawless.Good luck and enjoy your vinyl

Very easy to put together. only thing i didnt like is how the lid had to be put on. the hinges felt a bit stiff and almost as if they were going to break the plastic lid.