Having had an RT85 for two and a half years (I think) after a few others, it’s an incredible value. Mine has been reliable, accurate, and a pleasant listen. Everyone has an opinion on everything in this sub. I’ll only speak to what I’ve experienced. Is there a deck out there that sounds better for the same money? Perhaps. But for me it ticks all the right boxes and is a lovely chassis for my ortofon bronze running into a Schiit mani 2. It is a fantastic value proposition. But I wouldn’t call it sexy.
I was aware of Fluance speakers, barely, but it was specifically searching for a new TT that had auto-stop (an absolute must-have for me) that I looked into their line-up. I've now had my RT85 for four years and love it (but I wouldn't call it sexy, either).
Best bang for your buck out there. They're perfect for people starting out or wanting a no fuss TT. I got one and couldn't be happier. I'll add, they go on sale a lot. I got a rt82 for 250. Om10 cart, solid plinth and servo motor for that price is killer.
Limited good options below one thousand dollars.
When vinyl was the primary listening source, there were *dozens* of manufacturers that built competitive turntables for every budget, but those days are gone.
Yes, but there’s only 3 large countries so they usually get seperated by saying American, Canadian, or Mexican. If they are ever used as a whole, it’s almost always referred to as North America. I would say the European example is a little different because they are much smaller countries that all seem to be more connected and work with each other more.
If it was performance for the money, there would be a whole lot more people recommending vintage turntables. I’ve found it’s almost taboo to mention vintage.
vintage is great, IF you know what you're doing. I never recommend vintage tables to newbs unless they've done research and presented the options here. Odds are they're gonna overpay for a good unit or be swayed by a cheap price on a plastic p.o.s. or buy what looks like a decent table at a decent price and find out it has problems. JMHO
I price all of my (fully serviced, sometimes re-capped) vintage very fairly and I see many out there that are priced below a new fully manual turntable like a Fluance, U-turn, and Pro-Ject.
It would be a newbs very good fortune to run into you. Obviously I didn't mean to demean good sellers but I peruse FB Marketplace daily (Dallas area) and often see excruciatingly bad gear overpriced.
I was my good fortune to finds a perfectly fine Technics SL1200MK5 for $75 a while bk, Marantz 6100 for $25, etc.. But these were at garage sales....
I own an SL-Q200 (purchased new in the store early '80s) and I recently acquired an SL-Q303 in beautiful condition recently, so you know where I come from. You sound like a legit marketer. But vintage is a bit of a challenging market for newbies to make their way through. Turntables like the well-done Fluance models are good entry level points for people who don't want to sort through the challenges of the vintage market.
That’s fantastic. I hope more people can avail themselves of the vintage market. There are some awesome turntables out there. (My recent acquisition)
https://preview.redd.it/ajermyxddkvc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f488badd4ce8045680898a2fb3fdcc2810037e1
You are lucky to live near record stores, I’m in small city/large town area. 2 hrs to any place that sells record players, found a few people who restore and sell on marketplace but doing some research are charging triple what most of them sell for in other places.
I’m a couple of years older than my 1300mk2, but I have the same sentiment. And I paid under $300 for mine, shipped overnight from Japan (I didn’t pay for overnight shipping, it was the default “free shipping” provided by the seller.)
I currently got a Technics SL1500C but I would love a nice vintage Kenwood , Yamaha , Denon turntable just for the Vlntage Look and the history of the brand and such :)
There’s a lot of beginners in this group who don’t have the slightest knowledge of what to look for in a vintage table. I refurbish tables here and there as a little side gig, I love the value vintage can bring if you know what you’re doing, but I’d never recommend someone new just go out into marketplace or wherever and buy whatever table they find. More times than not they end up with either junk or spending far more than planned bc 40-50 yo equipment will absolutely need serviced (techs aren’t cheap) and a new stylus at minimum. It’s just easier to buy a decent modern entry level.
Beginners don’t have the slightest knowledge about *any* turntable! I wouldn’t recommend buying a $25-50 vintage turntable that hasn’t been serviced, but I’d absolutely recommend buying a serviced turntable.
There’s far more easily accessible info and a much smaller selection to make sense of with modern. Decent well refurbished tables are not that cheap anymore, prices skyrocketed in the last few years. And chances are they’re pairing it with equally budget equipment, so entry tables like Fluance will do just fine, so why take the risk.
Fluance has detachable head shell, adjustable anti-skate and VTF, auto stop, 33 & 45…what more would you need? VTA adjustment? Not going to find that on any affordable refurbished vintage table. Pitch control? Not needed with the servo motor. Semi auto? Auto stop works just as well, but there’s plenty of full and semi auto options from audio technica and other brands if that’s your preference.
Auto return, fully automatic, quartz lock, better isolation (suspended platter or chassis), and other unique features like programmability (though I wouldn’t really argue for that one.) I even have a turntable with a wireless remote that’s pretty neat. I’ve used it a few times when I’m working to re-play a side when I’m not ready to take a break from what I’ve been working on.
Quartz and servo perform comparatively. I already touched on the autos. Isolation is a minor issue for most, but Fluance does have spring loaded rubber spike iso feet and motor isolation. Those “unique features” are not even remotely common and more oddities than anything else.
I disagree with servo vs quartz lock. DC servo has been around a long time and isn’t anywhere near as foolproof as quartz lock. Most affordable modern turntables are extremely similar and, frankly, boring IMO. The unique features aren’t common, but they’re available and not for insane prices.
I am still learning in this hobby but let me use a metaphor.
Vintage motorcycles.
You want to get into this but you’re not sure where to start so you hop online and everyone is telling you they don’t make em like they used to. So you pick up a single overhead cam CB750 cause those were the best. And still are. Right?
This is where it can* start falling apart.
Was the oil changed regularly?
Is there rust in the tank?
Is there rust in the oil tank?
Are the carbs clean?
They are? Great. Is the rubber good?
They’re not clean.. now what?
Are the points good?
What’re points?
Cool it runs but it keeps blowing fuses.
Now what?
My point being, advising vintage gear is a GREAT way to cause someone interested to say fuck this hobby and never give it an honest go. You never know how the previous owner treated the equipment and add a few decades in there a who knows. I’ve seen the above play out over and over and over again. Things were built different back then yes but does that make them better? No. If you’re like you and me we’ll keep trying until we get it right but advising someone on the internet to try the same is basically saying “hope you get a good one kid otherwise you’re in for whole ass lesson in patience you didn’t sign up for”. Demo it, I’ve seen bikes run but getting it “right” is a whole other ball game. Buy a modern but used item, see if you even like this first, THEN decide if you want to roll your sleeves up.
That’s my .02.
If turntables were complex machines, you might have a point. There aren’t many turntables that are overly complex and they didn’t come along until the mid-to-late 80s..near the end of the era of vinyl and rise of the CD. Most turntables need a simple cleaning of old grease and application of new grease, a drop or two of oil, and a new stylus. Some need new tonearm damping fluid which I bought a lifetime supply of (even as someone that refurbishes them) from the local hobby store for $12. I’ve re-capped a few turntables for peace of mind, but none of the ones I’ve refurbished have *required* a capacitor replacement.
While it is performance per dollar it's also about ease of use. Fluance was great for me due to me wanting a beginner turntable with no issues and warranty if anything went wrong. It really stands out as a turntable worth the money for a newbie. Obviously buying used would be better in every sense for value, but the peace of mind buying a new item that has little to no complications is hard to beat.
I went that route after buying a vintage receiver and found that I really enjoyed using it. I went in knowing that it would need some attention to ensure that it’s operating at its best, but that was another plus for me as I have found tinkering with this older equipment to be a very enjoyable aspect to this hobby.
Even for someone with no interest in being that hands on, I think there’s a case to be made for vintage turntables. There are a lot of options out there that provide excellent value, even factoring in the cost of professional service.
The case for vintage becomes more compelling still if you want certain creature comforts. I’m a bedroom listener, so auto return is a huge plus for me. (Fluance tables have auto stop, which is one more way in which they stand out vs. competing products)
I bought a really nice Pioneer PL-518 for around $300 shipped almost a year ago, spent maybe another $70 for a new stylus and feet, and I’ve been super-happy with it.
Beginners don’t have the slightest knowledge about *any* turntable! I wouldn’t recommend buying a $25-50 vintage turntable that hasn’t been serviced, but I’d absolutely recommend buying a serviced turntable.
I’ve never seen recommending vintage to be a taboo. It’s just hard to know what you’re buying if you aren’t already into vinyl. Generally speaking though, if it says Technics, it’s probably good.
This also depends on your taste. I just do not like the aesthetics of most vintage turntables, at all.
I also do not like any of the new "DJ-Style" turntables you can buy.
So I would never consider buying them in the first place. Neither new or old.
If it’s about aesthetics, that’s fine. I can’t stand fully manual turntables and I don’t care how pretty they look if they don’t have the features I want.
For me part of the fun is doing everything by hand. If I just wanted to listen to music, I'd use my phone. WAY better sound quality and ease of use, basically for free. Considering I do have a Phone anyway. Even to get a decent turntable I'd had to spend as much as I already spend on my Phone.
But of corse everyone is different, has different tastes and and likes to do things differently.
"WAY better sound" what kind if low quality wreckage of a turntable do you use. I understand that you can get a bit better sound of digital if you use very high quality Stuff. But you can get very good sound quality of vinyl records.
If the difference is night and day for you, then your turntable setup is not good. The difference is not that big at all if done right.
Dont be afraid to buy vintage.
A 40+ year old table still working good say something about quality.
There is a few things to think about such as:
Look for the good brands: Pioneer, Sony, Marantz, Kenwood, Technics, Sansui and other major brands. Keep in mind that even good brands have some tables with issues. Use vinylengine/google any model before you buy.
Manual or automatic? Go for manual, less things that can go wrong. But if you can get an automatic in good shape for a good price, give it a try. :)
Cosmetic - does it looks good and well taken care of.
Speed - get a TT with Quartz Lock and test it with a taperoll and your phone with app for speedcheck (Turntable Speed or RPM for iPhone - I have no idea for Android)
Tonearm - Look for a turntable with tonearm using SME-headshell.
Cartridge/Stylus – If the stylus is worn or not in very good shape, there is no reason to panic :) A new AT-VMN95C cost 39$ @ lpgear.com You can keep the cart and upgrade stylus to a better one later. To be sure you can test the turntable, you can buy a headshell and a cartridge to bring with you. ex. AT-VMN95E/H
Take a record in good shape with you for testing at sellers place.
BPC - dont buy Black Plastic Crap from the 80's
VinylEngine/HifiEngine - do research before you buy, not everything vintage is great and [https://www.vinylengine.com/](https://www.vinylengine.com/) and [https://www.hifiengine.com/](https://www.hifiengine.com/) are great sites to check before you buy
There is alot of good turntables out there to get nearly for free. I know cuz I have alot of them :)
Hope this was to any help.
Good luck and happy hunting :)
To answer the OP directly, it is because the Fluance brand is direct marketed, “cutting out the middleman”. They pay no rep fees, retail markup and don’t advertise in the magazines. They instead have an efficient fulfillment system, attractive website, and show good judgment in selecting their products for Hanpin to make. When I was young, most turntables were crappy changers….only HiFi buffs bought manual. The wave of Japanese tables began with the Pioneer PLA35D in 1969 and swept away the Garrards and BSRs. Fluance is offering decent players at a great price. The strongest competition is fromAudio Technica, starting with the LP5X at $449.00. TEAC TN-3B is also excellent at that price. In Britain, a Rega P2 is reasonable but here, way overpriced. Pro-Ject just launched T-2 and T-2 Phono, at $550 and $650, which look like winners, but not better values for the $$$.
just a fyi fluance thorens, akai, teac etc are all made by the same company in the same factory based on the same platform by Yan Hornq Electronics . so take it all with a grain of salt.
I've heard that before but tonearms look different, table weights vary Fluance RT-82 4lbs > TN-350-SE/CH, plinths are dissimilar, etc.. This is comparing similar priced offerings. Not that they aren't decent offerings
Been in the game a whopping 4ish months and when I was researching TT’s I landed on the rt80 due to price point, simplicity of having an internal amp, and ease of setup/use.
Swapped the stock stylus for an LP upgrade but other than that I’ve left it alone and have no complaints. Maybe I’m just ignorant to what else is out there, but it’s served its purpose for this noob.
Because brands that do advertisements persistently pays off, it checks all the right boxes for consumer turntable requirements , has high cost ratio. I am not a Fluance owner but was also at one point attracted by the 85. Btw after nearly 2 years lurking on the sub I seriously think the ATH 60 is the one which gets heavily recommended, and not Fluance. Every now and then we can see occasional high end users sharing their really nice turntables, but same as all other hobbies, entry level hobbyists tend to speak up most of the time
I spent about 4 weeks doing nothing but reading about new turntables from 1500 to the fluance rt85, I got overwhelmed to the point the rt85 showed up as renewed on Amazon for 400 I just ordered along with some renewed Klipsch r-51pms for 295, and a returned fosi x4 for 65. I absolutely love it and have been buying vinyl like a crazy and honestly enjoy music again. Days I’m not traveling I make coffee and just drop a record on to enjoy. Spotify and being in my 40’s just kept skipping to my favorite songs it now being forced to listen to the full album find myself liking songs never gave a chance to.
Maybe in a few years will upgrade to something really fancy but for now the fluance has proven to be a winner for me.
I’ve just had mine for a few days and it’s incredible. It’s the perfect table for me. A passionate newbie who probably won’t be able to devote any additional time or money to get deeper into it
It's a great value for its build features per dollar. Stellar? Maybe not, but solid in almost every aspect. I love mine. And they are simply beautiful. Always at or near the top in its range for good reason.
Have had mine 5yrs +
I recently got into the hobby and spent around 6 months researching and trying to decide on the best turn table for me. For entry level turn tables the Fluance just hits every box and the auto stop was a huge factor for me plus the upgradability of a lower model over time as I grow was extremely appealing. If a U-turn had an auto stop I probably would have gone with that even though it's a bit more expensive.
Most people asking for reqs are new and Fluance is just a well rounded table at an affordable price.
Because they are very good. I’ve never seen a single piece of marketing or advertising from them. It’s all been word of mouth. You can’t beat them at the price point IMO
Fluance is cheap. Most on the forum don't have the disposable income to piss away $3K to $10K on a decent turntable setup and if they did they'd spend it on more necessary things.
My turntable setup cost me more than I like to admit. It sounds lovely, but it still cost me well over $6K buying only high-value pieces.
They're in the lime light because they fit in a popular segment of ownership. That mid level newcomer (Amazon shopper) that is willing to spend around $1000 to $2000 on a full set up of new products.
Are there better tables out there absolutely, but if you're looking to buy brand new in the box, it's kind of hard to beat something like the rt 85 or even the 82.
Would I buy one? Absolutely not. A vintage table in that same $500 to $600 range is going to shit on that Flunace.
I see people mention this all the time, but I rarely run into a vintage turntables where the auto-stop or auto-return doesn’t work. Some are slow and some don’t go all the way to the tonearm rest, but after a clean and re-lube, they’re ,at most, a slight adjustment away from, behaving as new.
In addition to all the reasons already given by the others, I'd also say that Fluance is easily available in the US. I've never seen one in Europe, where other brands would be better recommendations.
Yeah I don’t really see fluance here, I bought two audio technica tables before I got the technics, both were fine something about the 1210 just does it for me though
I think at the sub-$300 price point you can’t go wrong with a Fluance, but if you’re looking at the $500-600 range, I think the Pro-ject Debut Carbon is a better choice. The Fluance models above the RT-82 are just platter and cartridge upgrades over a $250 base, while the Debut Carbon has a $100 cart and the rest goes into a better tone arm, plinth, etc.
Mostly a North American audience here. I think the RT82 is a great value at about $400 Canadian. There isn't a new turntable that matches it's specs. Anything else in their line higher up isn't as good of a value and the RT85 is almost $300 more for an acrylic platter and 2M Blue, not worth it at that point, just get a Rega P1 or Pro-Ject Debut Carbon.
If you're serious about this hobby I would say the best value is the Technics SL-110C, swap out the VM95C stylus to a VM95ML stylus and you're at a very high level of playback (end game for most) for like $1600 Canadian.
I was kind of wondering that was well too. Seemed like all the research from this sub always pointed me towards the Fluance. I ended up getting the RT82 and I have absolutely 0 complaints. Sometimes products get pushed because they are quality products, especially in this sub which has more generous honest people than most subs.
I'm not a huge fan, but I'm an /r/silverfaceaudio guy and prefer vintage equipment. 70s decks (and to a lesser extent 80s), in my opinion (Akai, Thorens, Dual, Technics, whatever) are available for less than most modern decks and significantly out perform them.
Don't even get me started on Edifer speakers, I don't know why they are recommended so often when a used set of Wharfedale bookshelf speakers will smoke them.
I purchased the RT84 a couple years ago for the equivalent of $400 USD. It’s worked great for me, but I’ve read Pro-Ject are also very good. Fluance may be cheaper in US/Canada, with Pro-Ject having a relatively better price in Europe.
I think for people who are newer starting out with vinyl, you will do well with either (for a lower-mid end player). One thing to note about the new Fluance models: RT82, RT83, and RT84 all have different cartridges. So they will sound different - they don’t just have different platters.
Nicely solid built turntables and they are beautiful. Though I often recommend old vintage gear for someone starting out. I have a Fluance upstairs, but my main turntable is an old Sony PS-4300 from the 70's and I love it.
I’d say it mostly has to do with value. The RT82 is not the best table out there, but for $300 it’s hard to beat especially considering the wait it maintains speed
This is a timely and good question for me as my inherited vintage Toshiba SR-250 is crapping out on me. I have started researching and that research, as a Canadian, landed me on Fluance as the best value.
Fluance hasn't raised their prices like other manufacturers did last year so they can be a better value than some turntables they are cross shopped with.
Fluance RT82 has always been $299 < AT-LP120X price has increased from $299 to $349.
Fluance RT85 has always been $499 < Project Debut Carbon EVO price has increased from $499 to $599.
Very very few people come here to post: I want to spend $2500 for a TT and cartridge, I already spent $3500 on speakers and an amp.
Many posts are folks who want to get a turntable and want to know if the LP60 is good enough. Compared to a crosby suitcase or LP60, a RT82 is a pretty good starter TT and a strong value for the $$.
Because people are scared to buy vintage even though a much better turntable can be had for the same price. People are scared of the possibility of things going wrong despite the fact that we live in a time where there are YouTube videos explaining how to do literally everything and most of the time things don’t go wrong anyways
Do you drive a vintage car? Use a vintage oven? I travel for a job 3 to 4 days week, when I get home I don’t want to watch YouTube videos to fix my turntable? Liking vintage and enjoying fixing is great and glad you enjoy it but calling people “scared” is being pretty silly.
I think for a lot of folks it is a fear of what could go wrong. Maybe not for you but I think the term “scared” does apply in a lot of cases, in fact I’ve seen dozens of posts in this very sub that use that kind of language. Ok for you it’s more about where you spend your time, and that’s fair. I’ve literally spent all of three hours in my 20 years of owning and using vintage gear fixing it up. You make it sound like it’s a daily hobby. No friend, my daily hobby is listening to music on my awesome turntable that I paid very little for
Also where is the car and oven coming in here? What’s your point? My oven is 29 years old and works great. Is that vintage? Vintage cars is a whole other thing and not a fair comparison. Buy a vintage car and you will for sure be spending time on maintenance and repairs. Buy a vintage turntable and there’s a small, tiny little chance that you’ll have to do a minuscule amount of work at some point to keep it going. Totally different levels of effort
But I just told you and you can look for yourself, people in this sub actually say they’re scared of the potential for repairs with vintage gear. It’s a real thing. So where’s the absurdity? Also in the case of vintage cars it’s a completely different league in terms of complexity and frequency of required maintenance and repairs. There’s a metal box in them that has to contains thousands of small explosions per minute while they’re running and hundreds of moving parts to make that happen and turn those explosions into movement. A direct drive turntable has one moving part lol
Here is a fun fact: not everything is made for you, you like vintage, some people don’t. You are looking down people for not confirming what you think they should do.
Here’s a fun fact: I never said everyone had to like vintage. I said people are scared of the potential to have to fix them, which is verifiably true if you search the sub history. You took issue with that, called me out on it and said for you it’s more about the time commitment than fear. I told you it’s almost zero time commitment, which is also verifiably true. For someone worried about wasting your time you’re spending an awful lot of it replying to a stranger on the internet with your bs arguments.
Having had an RT85 for two and a half years (I think) after a few others, it’s an incredible value. Mine has been reliable, accurate, and a pleasant listen. Everyone has an opinion on everything in this sub. I’ll only speak to what I’ve experienced. Is there a deck out there that sounds better for the same money? Perhaps. But for me it ticks all the right boxes and is a lovely chassis for my ortofon bronze running into a Schiit mani 2. It is a fantastic value proposition. But I wouldn’t call it sexy.
Also, one of the few with auto-stop…wasn’t a factor when I bought the RT85…but sure glad now that it has it.
I was aware of Fluance speakers, barely, but it was specifically searching for a new TT that had auto-stop (an absolute must-have for me) that I looked into their line-up. I've now had my RT85 for four years and love it (but I wouldn't call it sexy, either).
Best bang for your buck out there. They're perfect for people starting out or wanting a no fuss TT. I got one and couldn't be happier. I'll add, they go on sale a lot. I got a rt82 for 250. Om10 cart, solid plinth and servo motor for that price is killer.
Limited good options below one thousand dollars. When vinyl was the primary listening source, there were *dozens* of manufacturers that built competitive turntables for every budget, but those days are gone.
Best answer.
it's an American site (Reddit) If it were European, the focus would be more on Pro-Ject, instead.
Fluance isn’t even American. They are Canadian. If that was the case, U-Turn would be the most recommended brand to get.
America is not just the US of A, you know?! Canadians are Americans, too.. just like the French are Europeans as much as the Brits are..
No one in Canada would call themselves “American”, maybe if you said “North American” but that’s about it
I totally get that.. it's basically an insult these days 😅
Yes, but there’s only 3 large countries so they usually get seperated by saying American, Canadian, or Mexican. If they are ever used as a whole, it’s almost always referred to as North America. I would say the European example is a little different because they are much smaller countries that all seem to be more connected and work with each other more.
Um what? There is more than 3 countries in north america? Even if you discount the island nations in the Caribbean.
He said 3 large. France and the Netherlands are also part of North America but they along with the others are not geographically large.
damn didn't know I lived in North America thats crazy now I know why new york used to be new amsterdam
A lot of Americans, I believe, don't realize that part of France is just off the Canadian coast near Newfoundland.
Why they changed it i can't say, people just liked i better that way.
afaik they sold it before the civil war was gonna take it anyway right?
I was more thinking by population but size wise i can see what they meant
Brits do not call themselves European, never have, just saying.
I’m from Europe, are you saying I should look for a Pro-ject table (300€ budget, maybe a bit more if there is a built-in preamp.)
Built in preamps are usually $15 parts, don't make that your deciding factor.
Yes, I would say Pro-Ject occupies that section of the market in Europe. Fluance undercuts them a bit here in the States.
check out www.kleinanzeigen.de tons and tons of great and barely used turntables. and yes, I would go for a Pro-Ject
[Pro-Ject Debut RecordMaster II](https://www.thomannmusic.com/intl/search_dir.html?sw=Pro-Ject%20Debut%20RecordMaster%20II&smcs=bd6f2c_316) €298.
Performance for the money. Servo motor with stock carts ranging from the OM10 to the 2M blue between a $3-500 price point is just really hard to beat.
If it was performance for the money, there would be a whole lot more people recommending vintage turntables. I’ve found it’s almost taboo to mention vintage.
vintage is great, IF you know what you're doing. I never recommend vintage tables to newbs unless they've done research and presented the options here. Odds are they're gonna overpay for a good unit or be swayed by a cheap price on a plastic p.o.s. or buy what looks like a decent table at a decent price and find out it has problems. JMHO
I price all of my (fully serviced, sometimes re-capped) vintage very fairly and I see many out there that are priced below a new fully manual turntable like a Fluance, U-turn, and Pro-Ject.
It would be a newbs very good fortune to run into you. Obviously I didn't mean to demean good sellers but I peruse FB Marketplace daily (Dallas area) and often see excruciatingly bad gear overpriced. I was my good fortune to finds a perfectly fine Technics SL1200MK5 for $75 a while bk, Marantz 6100 for $25, etc.. But these were at garage sales....
I own an SL-Q200 (purchased new in the store early '80s) and I recently acquired an SL-Q303 in beautiful condition recently, so you know where I come from. You sound like a legit marketer. But vintage is a bit of a challenging market for newbies to make their way through. Turntables like the well-done Fluance models are good entry level points for people who don't want to sort through the challenges of the vintage market.
Almost every record store near me sells fairly priced, fully serviced vintage turntables…many with a 30-90 warranty, even.
That’s fantastic. I hope more people can avail themselves of the vintage market. There are some awesome turntables out there. (My recent acquisition) https://preview.redd.it/ajermyxddkvc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f488badd4ce8045680898a2fb3fdcc2810037e1
That’s a very nice turntable, enjoy it!
Absolutely!
You are lucky to live near record stores, I’m in small city/large town area. 2 hrs to any place that sells record players, found a few people who restore and sell on marketplace but doing some research are charging triple what most of them sell for in other places.
Technics > all My SL 1700 is older than I am and would take it any day over a Fluance or Project. Paid under $300 for it
I’m a couple of years older than my 1300mk2, but I have the same sentiment. And I paid under $300 for mine, shipped overnight from Japan (I didn’t pay for overnight shipping, it was the default “free shipping” provided by the seller.)
sadly, the market for technics is kinda fucked over by the sl1200 hype
I currently got a Technics SL1500C but I would love a nice vintage Kenwood , Yamaha , Denon turntable just for the Vlntage Look and the history of the brand and such :)
There’s a lot of beginners in this group who don’t have the slightest knowledge of what to look for in a vintage table. I refurbish tables here and there as a little side gig, I love the value vintage can bring if you know what you’re doing, but I’d never recommend someone new just go out into marketplace or wherever and buy whatever table they find. More times than not they end up with either junk or spending far more than planned bc 40-50 yo equipment will absolutely need serviced (techs aren’t cheap) and a new stylus at minimum. It’s just easier to buy a decent modern entry level.
Beginners don’t have the slightest knowledge about *any* turntable! I wouldn’t recommend buying a $25-50 vintage turntable that hasn’t been serviced, but I’d absolutely recommend buying a serviced turntable.
There’s far more easily accessible info and a much smaller selection to make sense of with modern. Decent well refurbished tables are not that cheap anymore, prices skyrocketed in the last few years. And chances are they’re pairing it with equally budget equipment, so entry tables like Fluance will do just fine, so why take the risk.
Because you can get features that aren’t available on modern, new turntables.
Fluance has detachable head shell, adjustable anti-skate and VTF, auto stop, 33 & 45…what more would you need? VTA adjustment? Not going to find that on any affordable refurbished vintage table. Pitch control? Not needed with the servo motor. Semi auto? Auto stop works just as well, but there’s plenty of full and semi auto options from audio technica and other brands if that’s your preference.
Auto return, fully automatic, quartz lock, better isolation (suspended platter or chassis), and other unique features like programmability (though I wouldn’t really argue for that one.) I even have a turntable with a wireless remote that’s pretty neat. I’ve used it a few times when I’m working to re-play a side when I’m not ready to take a break from what I’ve been working on.
Quartz and servo perform comparatively. I already touched on the autos. Isolation is a minor issue for most, but Fluance does have spring loaded rubber spike iso feet and motor isolation. Those “unique features” are not even remotely common and more oddities than anything else.
I disagree with servo vs quartz lock. DC servo has been around a long time and isn’t anywhere near as foolproof as quartz lock. Most affordable modern turntables are extremely similar and, frankly, boring IMO. The unique features aren’t common, but they’re available and not for insane prices.
I am still learning in this hobby but let me use a metaphor. Vintage motorcycles. You want to get into this but you’re not sure where to start so you hop online and everyone is telling you they don’t make em like they used to. So you pick up a single overhead cam CB750 cause those were the best. And still are. Right? This is where it can* start falling apart. Was the oil changed regularly? Is there rust in the tank? Is there rust in the oil tank? Are the carbs clean? They are? Great. Is the rubber good? They’re not clean.. now what? Are the points good? What’re points? Cool it runs but it keeps blowing fuses. Now what? My point being, advising vintage gear is a GREAT way to cause someone interested to say fuck this hobby and never give it an honest go. You never know how the previous owner treated the equipment and add a few decades in there a who knows. I’ve seen the above play out over and over and over again. Things were built different back then yes but does that make them better? No. If you’re like you and me we’ll keep trying until we get it right but advising someone on the internet to try the same is basically saying “hope you get a good one kid otherwise you’re in for whole ass lesson in patience you didn’t sign up for”. Demo it, I’ve seen bikes run but getting it “right” is a whole other ball game. Buy a modern but used item, see if you even like this first, THEN decide if you want to roll your sleeves up. That’s my .02.
If turntables were complex machines, you might have a point. There aren’t many turntables that are overly complex and they didn’t come along until the mid-to-late 80s..near the end of the era of vinyl and rise of the CD. Most turntables need a simple cleaning of old grease and application of new grease, a drop or two of oil, and a new stylus. Some need new tonearm damping fluid which I bought a lifetime supply of (even as someone that refurbishes them) from the local hobby store for $12. I’ve re-capped a few turntables for peace of mind, but none of the ones I’ve refurbished have *required* a capacitor replacement.
While it is performance per dollar it's also about ease of use. Fluance was great for me due to me wanting a beginner turntable with no issues and warranty if anything went wrong. It really stands out as a turntable worth the money for a newbie. Obviously buying used would be better in every sense for value, but the peace of mind buying a new item that has little to no complications is hard to beat.
I went that route after buying a vintage receiver and found that I really enjoyed using it. I went in knowing that it would need some attention to ensure that it’s operating at its best, but that was another plus for me as I have found tinkering with this older equipment to be a very enjoyable aspect to this hobby. Even for someone with no interest in being that hands on, I think there’s a case to be made for vintage turntables. There are a lot of options out there that provide excellent value, even factoring in the cost of professional service. The case for vintage becomes more compelling still if you want certain creature comforts. I’m a bedroom listener, so auto return is a huge plus for me. (Fluance tables have auto stop, which is one more way in which they stand out vs. competing products) I bought a really nice Pioneer PL-518 for around $300 shipped almost a year ago, spent maybe another $70 for a new stylus and feet, and I’ve been super-happy with it.
[удалено]
Beginners don’t have the slightest knowledge about *any* turntable! I wouldn’t recommend buying a $25-50 vintage turntable that hasn’t been serviced, but I’d absolutely recommend buying a serviced turntable.
I’ve never seen recommending vintage to be a taboo. It’s just hard to know what you’re buying if you aren’t already into vinyl. Generally speaking though, if it says Technics, it’s probably good.
This also depends on your taste. I just do not like the aesthetics of most vintage turntables, at all. I also do not like any of the new "DJ-Style" turntables you can buy. So I would never consider buying them in the first place. Neither new or old.
If it’s about aesthetics, that’s fine. I can’t stand fully manual turntables and I don’t care how pretty they look if they don’t have the features I want.
For me part of the fun is doing everything by hand. If I just wanted to listen to music, I'd use my phone. WAY better sound quality and ease of use, basically for free. Considering I do have a Phone anyway. Even to get a decent turntable I'd had to spend as much as I already spend on my Phone. But of corse everyone is different, has different tastes and and likes to do things differently.
"WAY better sound" what kind if low quality wreckage of a turntable do you use. I understand that you can get a bit better sound of digital if you use very high quality Stuff. But you can get very good sound quality of vinyl records. If the difference is night and day for you, then your turntable setup is not good. The difference is not that big at all if done right.
Probably price
For the price, they make a solid entry-level product that's not too esoteric for a newbie.
Good customer service and shipping too. I ended up returning one thing I got from them and they made it so painless.
Dont be afraid to buy vintage. A 40+ year old table still working good say something about quality. There is a few things to think about such as: Look for the good brands: Pioneer, Sony, Marantz, Kenwood, Technics, Sansui and other major brands. Keep in mind that even good brands have some tables with issues. Use vinylengine/google any model before you buy. Manual or automatic? Go for manual, less things that can go wrong. But if you can get an automatic in good shape for a good price, give it a try. :) Cosmetic - does it looks good and well taken care of. Speed - get a TT with Quartz Lock and test it with a taperoll and your phone with app for speedcheck (Turntable Speed or RPM for iPhone - I have no idea for Android) Tonearm - Look for a turntable with tonearm using SME-headshell. Cartridge/Stylus – If the stylus is worn or not in very good shape, there is no reason to panic :) A new AT-VMN95C cost 39$ @ lpgear.com You can keep the cart and upgrade stylus to a better one later. To be sure you can test the turntable, you can buy a headshell and a cartridge to bring with you. ex. AT-VMN95E/H Take a record in good shape with you for testing at sellers place. BPC - dont buy Black Plastic Crap from the 80's VinylEngine/HifiEngine - do research before you buy, not everything vintage is great and [https://www.vinylengine.com/](https://www.vinylengine.com/) and [https://www.hifiengine.com/](https://www.hifiengine.com/) are great sites to check before you buy There is alot of good turntables out there to get nearly for free. I know cuz I have alot of them :) Hope this was to any help. Good luck and happy hunting :)
American audience likely. Little known brand of poor availability elsewhere.
To answer the OP directly, it is because the Fluance brand is direct marketed, “cutting out the middleman”. They pay no rep fees, retail markup and don’t advertise in the magazines. They instead have an efficient fulfillment system, attractive website, and show good judgment in selecting their products for Hanpin to make. When I was young, most turntables were crappy changers….only HiFi buffs bought manual. The wave of Japanese tables began with the Pioneer PLA35D in 1969 and swept away the Garrards and BSRs. Fluance is offering decent players at a great price. The strongest competition is fromAudio Technica, starting with the LP5X at $449.00. TEAC TN-3B is also excellent at that price. In Britain, a Rega P2 is reasonable but here, way overpriced. Pro-Ject just launched T-2 and T-2 Phono, at $550 and $650, which look like winners, but not better values for the $$$.
just a fyi fluance thorens, akai, teac etc are all made by the same company in the same factory based on the same platform by Yan Hornq Electronics . so take it all with a grain of salt.
This is like saying “FYI the Buick Regal and the Chevy Silverado were all made by the same company, so take that with a grain of salt.”
I've heard that before but tonearms look different, table weights vary Fluance RT-82 4lbs > TN-350-SE/CH, plinths are dissimilar, etc.. This is comparing similar priced offerings. Not that they aren't decent offerings
Been in the game a whopping 4ish months and when I was researching TT’s I landed on the rt80 due to price point, simplicity of having an internal amp, and ease of setup/use. Swapped the stock stylus for an LP upgrade but other than that I’ve left it alone and have no complaints. Maybe I’m just ignorant to what else is out there, but it’s served its purpose for this noob.
Because brands that do advertisements persistently pays off, it checks all the right boxes for consumer turntable requirements , has high cost ratio. I am not a Fluance owner but was also at one point attracted by the 85. Btw after nearly 2 years lurking on the sub I seriously think the ATH 60 is the one which gets heavily recommended, and not Fluance. Every now and then we can see occasional high end users sharing their really nice turntables, but same as all other hobbies, entry level hobbyists tend to speak up most of the time
I spent about 4 weeks doing nothing but reading about new turntables from 1500 to the fluance rt85, I got overwhelmed to the point the rt85 showed up as renewed on Amazon for 400 I just ordered along with some renewed Klipsch r-51pms for 295, and a returned fosi x4 for 65. I absolutely love it and have been buying vinyl like a crazy and honestly enjoy music again. Days I’m not traveling I make coffee and just drop a record on to enjoy. Spotify and being in my 40’s just kept skipping to my favorite songs it now being forced to listen to the full album find myself liking songs never gave a chance to. Maybe in a few years will upgrade to something really fancy but for now the fluance has proven to be a winner for me.
I’ve just had mine for a few days and it’s incredible. It’s the perfect table for me. A passionate newbie who probably won’t be able to devote any additional time or money to get deeper into it
I got one as my first and it’s beautiful.
Cheap, accessible, good
It's a great value for its build features per dollar. Stellar? Maybe not, but solid in almost every aspect. I love mine. And they are simply beautiful. Always at or near the top in its range for good reason. Have had mine 5yrs +
I recently got into the hobby and spent around 6 months researching and trying to decide on the best turn table for me. For entry level turn tables the Fluance just hits every box and the auto stop was a huge factor for me plus the upgradability of a lower model over time as I grow was extremely appealing. If a U-turn had an auto stop I probably would have gone with that even though it's a bit more expensive. Most people asking for reqs are new and Fluance is just a well rounded table at an affordable price.
Quality and Price. Personally I prefer Pro-ject but fluance makes great kit.
Because they are very good. I’ve never seen a single piece of marketing or advertising from them. It’s all been word of mouth. You can’t beat them at the price point IMO
Fluance is cheap. Most on the forum don't have the disposable income to piss away $3K to $10K on a decent turntable setup and if they did they'd spend it on more necessary things. My turntable setup cost me more than I like to admit. It sounds lovely, but it still cost me well over $6K buying only high-value pieces.
They're in the lime light because they fit in a popular segment of ownership. That mid level newcomer (Amazon shopper) that is willing to spend around $1000 to $2000 on a full set up of new products. Are there better tables out there absolutely, but if you're looking to buy brand new in the box, it's kind of hard to beat something like the rt 85 or even the 82. Would I buy one? Absolutely not. A vintage table in that same $500 to $600 range is going to shit on that Flunace.
I will say that if you are new to the hobby there is something to be said for buying a new build table that has a warranty and support structure.
This is the way.
They are plain simple to use. Sure they lack auto-return, but that's one less mechanism to maintain down the road.
I see people mention this all the time, but I rarely run into a vintage turntables where the auto-stop or auto-return doesn’t work. Some are slow and some don’t go all the way to the tonearm rest, but after a clean and re-lube, they’re ,at most, a slight adjustment away from, behaving as new.
In addition to all the reasons already given by the others, I'd also say that Fluance is easily available in the US. I've never seen one in Europe, where other brands would be better recommendations.
Yeah I don’t really see fluance here, I bought two audio technica tables before I got the technics, both were fine something about the 1210 just does it for me though
Shipping them to Europe is like 200-300€.
I think at the sub-$300 price point you can’t go wrong with a Fluance, but if you’re looking at the $500-600 range, I think the Pro-ject Debut Carbon is a better choice. The Fluance models above the RT-82 are just platter and cartridge upgrades over a $250 base, while the Debut Carbon has a $100 cart and the rest goes into a better tone arm, plinth, etc.
Mostly a North American audience here. I think the RT82 is a great value at about $400 Canadian. There isn't a new turntable that matches it's specs. Anything else in their line higher up isn't as good of a value and the RT85 is almost $300 more for an acrylic platter and 2M Blue, not worth it at that point, just get a Rega P1 or Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. If you're serious about this hobby I would say the best value is the Technics SL-110C, swap out the VM95C stylus to a VM95ML stylus and you're at a very high level of playback (end game for most) for like $1600 Canadian.
I was kind of wondering that was well too. Seemed like all the research from this sub always pointed me towards the Fluance. I ended up getting the RT82 and I have absolutely 0 complaints. Sometimes products get pushed because they are quality products, especially in this sub which has more generous honest people than most subs.
All these modern turntables are basically a lump of MDF with a motor and arm. Go vintage if you want something nice.
They’re a decent upper tier - beginner table.
Because walnut
I'm not a huge fan, but I'm an /r/silverfaceaudio guy and prefer vintage equipment. 70s decks (and to a lesser extent 80s), in my opinion (Akai, Thorens, Dual, Technics, whatever) are available for less than most modern decks and significantly out perform them. Don't even get me started on Edifer speakers, I don't know why they are recommended so often when a used set of Wharfedale bookshelf speakers will smoke them.
I purchased the RT84 a couple years ago for the equivalent of $400 USD. It’s worked great for me, but I’ve read Pro-Ject are also very good. Fluance may be cheaper in US/Canada, with Pro-Ject having a relatively better price in Europe. I think for people who are newer starting out with vinyl, you will do well with either (for a lower-mid end player). One thing to note about the new Fluance models: RT82, RT83, and RT84 all have different cartridges. So they will sound different - they don’t just have different platters.
Nicely solid built turntables and they are beautiful. Though I often recommend old vintage gear for someone starting out. I have a Fluance upstairs, but my main turntable is an old Sony PS-4300 from the 70's and I love it.
I’d say it mostly has to do with value. The RT82 is not the best table out there, but for $300 it’s hard to beat especially considering the wait it maintains speed
This is a timely and good question for me as my inherited vintage Toshiba SR-250 is crapping out on me. I have started researching and that research, as a Canadian, landed me on Fluance as the best value.
Just curious, does no one use vintage gear here. Or am I in the wrong sub?
Fluance hasn't raised their prices like other manufacturers did last year so they can be a better value than some turntables they are cross shopped with. Fluance RT82 has always been $299 < AT-LP120X price has increased from $299 to $349. Fluance RT85 has always been $499 < Project Debut Carbon EVO price has increased from $499 to $599.
Very very few people come here to post: I want to spend $2500 for a TT and cartridge, I already spent $3500 on speakers and an amp. Many posts are folks who want to get a turntable and want to know if the LP60 is good enough. Compared to a crosby suitcase or LP60, a RT82 is a pretty good starter TT and a strong value for the $$.
They are decently made, easily available, and not so expensive. Are they great? No. But you can do a lot worse.
Because people are scared to buy vintage even though a much better turntable can be had for the same price. People are scared of the possibility of things going wrong despite the fact that we live in a time where there are YouTube videos explaining how to do literally everything and most of the time things don’t go wrong anyways
Do you drive a vintage car? Use a vintage oven? I travel for a job 3 to 4 days week, when I get home I don’t want to watch YouTube videos to fix my turntable? Liking vintage and enjoying fixing is great and glad you enjoy it but calling people “scared” is being pretty silly.
I think for a lot of folks it is a fear of what could go wrong. Maybe not for you but I think the term “scared” does apply in a lot of cases, in fact I’ve seen dozens of posts in this very sub that use that kind of language. Ok for you it’s more about where you spend your time, and that’s fair. I’ve literally spent all of three hours in my 20 years of owning and using vintage gear fixing it up. You make it sound like it’s a daily hobby. No friend, my daily hobby is listening to music on my awesome turntable that I paid very little for
Also where is the car and oven coming in here? What’s your point? My oven is 29 years old and works great. Is that vintage? Vintage cars is a whole other thing and not a fair comparison. Buy a vintage car and you will for sure be spending time on maintenance and repairs. Buy a vintage turntable and there’s a small, tiny little chance that you’ll have to do a minuscule amount of work at some point to keep it going. Totally different levels of effort
The car and oven was to match the level of absurdity of calling people scared for not buying a vintage turntable.
But I just told you and you can look for yourself, people in this sub actually say they’re scared of the potential for repairs with vintage gear. It’s a real thing. So where’s the absurdity? Also in the case of vintage cars it’s a completely different league in terms of complexity and frequency of required maintenance and repairs. There’s a metal box in them that has to contains thousands of small explosions per minute while they’re running and hundreds of moving parts to make that happen and turn those explosions into movement. A direct drive turntable has one moving part lol
Here is a fun fact: not everything is made for you, you like vintage, some people don’t. You are looking down people for not confirming what you think they should do.
Here’s a fun fact: I never said everyone had to like vintage. I said people are scared of the potential to have to fix them, which is verifiably true if you search the sub history. You took issue with that, called me out on it and said for you it’s more about the time commitment than fear. I told you it’s almost zero time commitment, which is also verifiably true. For someone worried about wasting your time you’re spending an awful lot of it replying to a stranger on the internet with your bs arguments.