Mine is coming tomorrow. Fluance was running a 15% off sale so $425. Can't beat that. Got it in the walnut. Looking forward to hearing it.

Put my M97 on bench & replaced with Shure V-15 mk4 with JiCo SAS to play on my Technics 1600 mk2. Happy with this

you are a ignorant its 20 hz to 20k hz 20,000 k hz is 2,000,000 hz

I.bought.the.jico.replasment.stylus.sounds Better.then.the.shure.to.me.bass.mid.range. I.switch.back.and.forth.and.jico.still.sounds Better.the.jico.has.a.shorter.cantilear.then The.shure.maybe.that.makes.a.diferance Or.not

20 Hertz (Bass) to 20 Kilo Hertz (treble). Shure was one of the best. Sad, they don’t make phono cartridges anymore.

Just bought it in the new Bamboo finish. Absolutely beautiful!!! Fantastic sound! You can get a mounted Grado Prestige 3 Blue for $160 at LP Gear. Cheaper than the Ortofon replacement stylus and with much higher specs. 10hz-55k hz and better channel separation at 27db. I had a p mount on my old Technics SL QD33 and it is every bit as good as the Ortofon IMO. To my old ears anyway. Try one and see for yourself. It may surprise you. They also offer it with the Nagoaka MP 110 for the same price. Although, the Nagoaka retails about $65 cheaper than the Ortofon 2M Blue. Unfortunately, no discount but some people claim it sounds better. Ortofon ( nude elliptical) Nagoaka ( bonded tip)

Video went from good to awesome at 8:58.

its $634.99 CAD as of right now. price jumping up again.

I used to own the Rega 25 which sold for $1500 about 20 years ago and was a lighter table with a lighter platter. I reckon this RT85 @ 17.5 lb weight is much better unit for 1/3 of the price. And the Rega 25 did not come with a cartridge. The Ortofon Blue sell for over $200 by itself. So this TT is a no brainer. It’s cheaper because of no middle men and lack of name recognition.

How can they say "solid wood" when it is constructed of MDF ??? Is that even related to wood ???

Cute Doggy Prince 🐕❤️

Features that are important to the quality of the sound reproduced by a Turntable are: Servo Motor, the steadiness of the motor measured in Wow and Flutter. The Turntable Platter a higher Mass Platter made of Acrylic or better Delrin are upgrades to a Turntable like the Rega Planar 1. A quality Tonearm with a quality Cartridge, Rega is well known for the quality or their Tonearm's. The RT85 addresses everyone of these, the Motor, the Platter, and the Tonearm and Cartridge, these make it the best value under $500.00.

Prince is the show!

I own the Fluance RT81, 83 and 85 and love them all. Great sound combined with great looks at a reasonable price. Can’t ask for more than that.

I've purchased 4 Fluance turntables, including the RT85, for myself and family members and have been delighted with each one of them. Beautiful sound, beautiful looking at an affordable price. If you're looking for lots of bang for the bucks spent, Fluance is the way to go.

You said (twice!) that the frequency response is 20.000 to 22.000 KHz!!! :) Great review, otherwise!

I have one just like that one, brown, and it’s amazing. I love It

Why bother with all this old stuff. There are superb 500-$1000 tables out there.

Do you really believe a $600 regal sounds better than a Technics 1200 that has been well kept

Sorry....but totally disagree with your video. Your pros and cons were way off??? Had a Rega Planar 3 that I enjoyed...ending up picking up a Hitachi PS-48 from the original owner....this TT smokes the Rega... Looks better and sounds better.....yes it sounds better. Picked up a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge which is better than the Rega...run this this thru my Vincent Phono preamp and my Yamaha Receiver and B&W speakers....this unit smokes the Rega...and it looks much better. Appreciate the video and you made some good points but I just feel you generalized a lot of your points on vintage and new. I don't know what you are talking about on these vintage being all gunked up??? Your pricing is also way off on vintage turntables...new is not always better...Linn, Thorens and others do require more money.....and are worth it! You are shopping on Craigslist and garage sales....and lastly if these Turntables built in the 60's and 70's are still playing today....yup they are built like tanks! Good luck with these Fluance and U-Orbit And Pro-ject models....something tells me these will not be around 10 years from now 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Your right.

Good first video. I have 2 tables, (Dual CS5000 and Dual 701) Very different characteristics. I also have 4 carts. 2 M97XE and 2 Shure V 15 Type RS. (Which is a Radio Shack model similar to the V15VxMR) I have one extra head-shell for each table so I can listen to the 2 carts on the same table without fiddling with the settings. I think the M97XE is a fair cart, not anything amazing. I bought them for 85.00 each and have 2 stylus with each. I prefer the V 15 Type RS with my CS 5000. The 701 (a direct drive) sounds a bit better with the M97XE. I went online looking up prices. Way too much. If I am going to get another cart and want a Shure, I will hold out for the top-reviewed, highly-acclaimed V15 type V) And it would have to be NOS. Other than that, neither has been broken in yet. Takes over 100 hours to set. So I am about 50. Is this price gouging? Hard to say. If people pay the price, no one is holding a gun to their heads.

MDF not wood.

Sounds like you got the Sony UPB-X1100ES. I got it exactly to be able to play SACD and DVD-A discs. I've been playing mp3 rips of KZbin concerts via the USB port, surprisingly good! And its on my audio only setup. Last thing, I'm waiting for my Fluance RT-85 replaces a Dual CS-741Q with Shure V15 Type V MRx cartridge I've had since 1988.

I prefer the original M97HE from the 80s and ditto the M95HE. It sounds more neutral and doesn't sound slightly muted in the top end like the XE. It's a better detail extractor and also sounds more dynamic.

I ordered mine last saturday and am anxiously waiting for it to get to me, i currently am using a technics sl-q30, cant wait to see how it sounds compared to the fluance.

excellent video, would love to hear your take on the new fluance bamboo plinths and also the new project debut evo...great content keep it up!

Well,imho new turntables are mostly old turntables of tomorrow,regarding their build quality,but probably the better choice for a beginner,because for buying used you have to have good knowledge about the matter and are willing and able to DIY if necessary. And yes,prices have risen to absurd heights for vintage gear,but on the other side you still can make a steal,although it takes a bit of patience and you have to look around. Anyway, many old middle class turntables from the 2nd half of the seventies up to the early eighties are still better and more comfortable than new ones up to roughly 1k. Personaly i have a Dual 1249 and a Sony PS-X6 since a decade now and both turntables perform after a initial thorough cleanup perfectly fine.

what i like about Fluance RTs is that you can buy the cheaper models and then upgrade to the level of an TR85 (with a preamp) but the RT85 sounds perfect for what I'm looking for in a TT. thanks for the review. there are many out there but this one is sufficient and had the info i was looking for.

I just bought the RT85 after a lot of reseach and I am extremly pleased with it..being a Canadian product helps alot too. Thanks for the latest review of it.

Step up to the black for more detail and better tracking of complex music. Yes, it costs $700 - 800. But if your system can reproduce the increase in sound quality, you will be impressed. Spend your money where the energy is changed. The cartridge changes mechanical energy to electrical energy. The speakers back to mechanical.

Very true! The “old category” is a nice touch I’ll be sure to remember this when I’m out buying!

Nice!

Great content!

I went looking for one of these shortly after Shure made the announcement they were killing off their phono cartridge line. I almost had a chance to buy one new from my local stereo shop at $100 because people hadn't started jacking up the prices yet, but I missed it. One thing I've noticed on eBay is that you actually could buy its V15 predecessors for a good amount less, and in most of the reviews I saw, they said that as good as it was, the 97 fell short of living up to the V15 legacy. Still, I wouldn't mind getting a hold of one, if the price were right...

Awesome Video! Keep them coming I M O!!!! Cheers!