I wanted to thank you, I've been really thinking of upgrading my TT and was about to just spend a lot of money lol, the RT 82 is more than enough for now, maybe after I'll get into the upgrades but I'm pretty sure this is more than enough. Great vid btw, loved all the shots
Great video, I feel like I could definitely hear more of the mix especially on the second track with the Rt82. I'm planning on getting that next payday, can't be more excited!
I went from a Audio Technica LP60 to the Fluance RT83. The biggest difference I could tell is how much better the Fluance is at tracking. I play some bass heavy dub reggae records that would cause the LP60 to skip but not a problem for the Fluance. Perhaps the elliptical diamond in the Ortopon Red is the reason for the improved tracking. I think it’s the tone arm and counter balance that makes the difference. Very worthy upgrade. I agree it’s better to get the Fluance and then you can choose a nice cartridge suited for your ears.
The interesting thing I have discovered playing with some of these turntables is 33 1/3 reads on a digital reader across the board as the same (I assume within some margin of error that a stroboscope would detect more precisely) - but when you try and line/stack audio (sometimes from even the same parts used like in an Angels Horn and Retro Life TT lineups) you get varying overlap/delays. I'm no motor expert but I enjoy the almost slower speed of the RT82 + - and they claim because it uses a servo (almost 'smart' motor) that analyzes corrections hundreds of times a second. So far I have purchased and been playing with turntables (seven different turntables at the time I write this) and a variety of stylus from AT/Grado/Ortofon/Gold Ring/Nagaoka (just started playing with the MP110) - no matter the table or element I use, I always find myself preferring the Fluance. That speaks to me as an end user if nothing else. I like all (but one) of the TTs I have used so far but my test pool is still very limited. Fluance just feels like the no brainer to me so far of anything in their weight-class/price range. That's not to say there aren't great options all around, just how I have so far come to feel also. (Sorry didn't mean to write so much got kind of carried away).
Since I already have a ortofon 2m blue and acrylic platter mat, I'm getting the rt82, and save some cash. Essentially it will be a rt85 I'll be running it with my yamaha a-s701 integrated amp, schiit mani 2 preamp into my wharfedale diamond 12.2 bookshelf speakers
Yep, it's all about what sounds good to you. I like the ortofon blue on my rt85 and have no need or want to change. Also using Yamaha A-S801 with klipsh RP-600Ms. Maybe I will get a phono preamp in the future. Nice video you made here.
I’m about to buy an RT82 as an upgrade from my Crosley Cruiser. It blows my mind the different sound on the second track between the LP60 and the RT82 - the mids and bass are so muddy sounding on LP60 where you can almost hear the individual strings of the guitar in the mids on the RT82
A good preamp can go a long ways in combination with nicer needles I have found. I have put an MP110 on my RT82 and I actually feel like I get more separation in the highs now that its been used a bit. the Fluance TTs are just my favorite out of anything I have tried, and I'm not someone that wants to get much more expensive than that personally. :D
@@EightSixMatt I'm very new to turntables and have found this video very helpful. I'm also looking to upgrade from my Crosley Curiser. I was curious about the preamp. Does it matter what type of preamp is used along side of the RT82? And are there good quality, affordable speakers you'd recommend to start with?
In the first song I almost couldn't hear a difference, but the second and the last song sound more clear with the ortofon om 10. Then again the OM10 is a very nice stylus.
I agree, the OM10 is such an easy good sounding relatively affordable stylus. It’s the first I’d recommend to someone not looking to spend a lot of money but that want better than lower stock options like atn3600
I agree. The Ortofon sounds better in this case. Most times, I've found Ortofon (especially 2M Blue) to be a bit tinny and too bright, but here, the added brightness is welcome as it just gives better detail. Audio Technica makes a stellar product to be sure, and all things considered, is a hell of a value. The RT just does it better, IMHO. That said, the RT with a Nagaoka MP110 sounds amazing. Not nearly as harsh as the Ortofon Blue. I think that's the direction I'm looking...I wouldn't have made this choice if not for your helpful video. Thanks for doing this!
I'm glad it helped! I've got some various Nagaoka carts I have been trying to decide on to try next and see if I can find any 'in person' true distinctions between. Comparing Ortofon and Grado even is where I can hear some real distinctions but I wouldn't say One > Other - just "different."
@Eight-Six definitely different! I just prefer the warmth of the Nagaoka. That said, Grado is pretty damn "fluffy," too. There's not a huge difference between the Black and the Gold as well, except the price tag, lol. I guess it has to do with conductivity, but to my ears, they sound imperceptibly close. I haven't heard the WHOLE line of Ortofon, but I'm sure there's one I'd like.
I just ordered the RT82 in bamboo. I just made the decision to really pursue listening to music via vinyl. My only experience with both of those turntables comes from your video. Tonally, I think there isn't enough of a difference to warrant the price jump of the Fluance. However, I did notice quite a difference in the detail of the music. The Fluance was producing more of the music that the Audio Technica was missing. That, to me is totally worth the price jump to the Fluance. Thanks for the comparison.
The Ortofon 10 is a nice cart but lacks punch it's only 4.5mv and the Ortofon Red is 5.5mv, I did notice the fluance sounds warmer and speed was right on the Lp was faster!
I really like Grado if you're wanting a more punchy. My favorite stylus has been my Nagaoka mp110. I bought it to see what the hype was about with it and it's been my daily ever since.
Thanks for this demo of the 2 record players. The RT has a better reproduction of the full spectrum. I felt the lows and miss were tighter, punchier, with great clarity, and the highs have a coat of sweetness. Not harsh. Great shootout!
There is a 'something' to the Ortofon cart sounds that I like better clarity wise. I bought a Grado black to try it, and while it's a seemingly loved cart too, I don't find it as enjoyable either. My next venture is in the Nagaoka carts to see how I feel about those. Edit to add a missing thought: AT carts are just all-around decent to me, I think they are perfectly acceptable and enjoyable experiences I havent really hated or loved them, just a middle ground of good'nuff.
Personally, I find the Ortofon OM10 - or even the Ortofon OM-5 -- is better than the 2M Red. And, yes, I have owned all. It's also a different, more neutral flavor from the Audio Technica AT95 (which is a good cartridge, but more "zippy"/forward). The OM10 is easy to live with for sure. That's probably why it's been around for so long. As is the Nagaoka MP-110. Of course, all cartridges (please everyone, quit saying "CARTS" - it just sounds stupid) need to be run in 10-20 hours to really sound right.
Great explanation. If you have a picture or a video somewhere, can you help advice how much does this weigh along with the package? I am trying to order it internally and trying to see how much it would cost.
Nice vid. I'm a total newbie with vinyl so I bought the AT LP60XBT for its ease of setup and the AT rep. To my amateur ears it sounds fine but when I get a bit more experienced I'll look at upgrading to the Fluance 82 for the upgrade paths it offers. I also like its aesthetic.
i got the lp60x and i’m having issues with skipping on brand new records. do you think i got unfortunate with a faulty one or have you experienced skipping as well
@@natimber3040I've read comments of folks with similar issues to yours but after two weeks I haven't had any issues with my AT TT that weren't record related - dusty, scratched etc.
@@natimber3040 I have not had skipping with LP60, I will say that Audio Technica resolved an issue for me really fast. Have you contacted them? They were pretty on it with getting everything sorted.
Nice video, getting one for Father's Day. Your video helped me make the decision. One question if you could help me with, where can I find the stand you have your turntable on? Exactly what I need for my small space. Thank you!
The only thing I don't like it about it is the glossy (and that looks like glossy AF variant of glossy) finish. Bamboo looks to be matte but I like this color way more, color me torn.
I’m going to be honest I tried listening and couldn’t tell much of a difference. The RT82 sounded a little slower but sound quality seemed the same to me of course this is digitally compressed sound over my phone so in person maybe it’d be different
I have an audio technica LP60x and I’m going to keep it and slowly improve my stereo/receiver setup, buy more records, and get the RT85 years down the line
Kind of new to this, but I’m a bit confused by the conclusion here. If the main difference is in the needle, and they are otherwise very similar, why not go with the cheaper unit to save money for trying different cartridges later? Edit: I think I am seeing now that the Fluance is compatible with a wider range of cartridges, is this the case? Thanks for the great video!
The headshells being easy to swap or add a cart to is a + in my book. As to why skip the preamp models? Well that’s a divided thing. Some will tel you a pre installed preamp can cause problems listening, and some people want a fully reference turn table like this because they have no need for a built in preamp as they will always connect phono to a hand selected preamp or phono source of their choosing. In essence they are very similar turn tables with a handful of (in my opinion) no or negligible impact between models, other than cart.
I have the same receiver and am new to turntables. I'm looking to get the rt82, with this set up does it require a preamp? Or does the receiver have a built in preamp
Would it be fair to say that any sound improvement would be limited to the weakest link in your system ? in other words, if the Fluance is producing notes and tones that your speakers or amp can't reproduce in the same way, then you will be less likely to notice much difference ! Just a thought !
A fair thought, but I’d recommend not overthinking that too much. Have you heard of rock grandpa? He ran a separate electrical line saying other people’s electricity is like ‘tainted blood’ and has a direct effect on the sound. The funny thing is…it’s only a few feet back from his current line…on the same grid. Just an additional thing to think about. How much emphasis we put on our own love for sound and music is, and always will be, subjective.
@@EightSixMatt Lol, it's a fact, nothing to do with being subjective, I performed a similar test to you but with three CD players a few years back, my daughters Micromega cd player gave up the ghost, so I had three cd players laying round my house unused, so took them over to try them out on her relatively expensive Bi-Amped system ie Arcam A85 pre-power amplifier combo, feeding a pair of highly modified Canton Ergo floor standing speakers with 4 drivers per speaker, at todays value around $4000, so a serious piece of kit. I connected the Harmon Kardon first and it sounded ok but nothing special, tried the next which was a Philips player, that sounded better, the next which was a Cambridge Audio CD player, and boy, what a difference, chalk and cheese springs to mind, we had four people listening to this test and all four were knocked out by the difference from the relatively poor Harmon Kardon to the best Cambridge Audio player, it was no competition to be honest, so my point is, if I had performed the same test on a low end system those differences would have never been so different, if at all, a cheap amp will never deliver a purer signal than it is capable of reproducing ! In other words, you could of tried a $2000 dollar turntable on your system and there wouldn't be a huge difference because of the limitations put on the system by it's weakest link ! Now that's not being subjective but an actual fact ok, it's like having a 6" pipe pumping water into a tank, and having a 3" pipe coming out the other end, the water flow will be restricted by that weakest link ! As for clean electricity that man knew what he was talking about, dirty electricity is where electrical interreference is transmitted along a feed line, this is a well documented fact, for example, if you have dimmer switches fitted in your home, they will omit a humming sound through the power supply in your home, and if you have sensitive hi-fi equipment this will be heard as 'Humming or buzzing' on your speakers, but again if your system isn't particularly great at reproducing high frequency signals for example then it won't be heard, so this is why anyone with sensitive equipment will have a some kind of filtration on the power supply going into the decent hi-fi, anything below say a $1000 dollar system then no need. Just saying.
The lp60 models are great for a simple auto turntable, but have a lower build quality, and no real customization. The Fluance tables are a bit more nuanced in my opinion. They are far more customization, and a higher build quality. The 80 and 81 have built in preamps I believe. That makes life easier for running line level out (but I haven’t used one of them personally). It comes down to what you want at the end of the day. Fully auto do the trick turntable? Or, Manual more physical feature and user control turn table? Differently good choices.
Thats probably more of a preference question as the 120 is a direct drive TT - people have opinions that seem to favor belt drives over direct drives for listening. I guess it comes down to features and personal preferences between the two. the RT82 comes with (in my opinion) a better stylus, and checks all my boxes for preferences personally.
I researched this extensively. One is direct drive and one is belt driven. I think the AT wins here however there have been many reports of DD failure. Seems the Fluance has a better plith for sound insulation. Cartridges are preference but the Fluance has a more expensive one. The 120 has Bluetooth (that's what the BT stands for) where the Fluance allows you to customize it your way (as far as Bluetooth and pre amp) so I'd say the 120 is a better plug and play option but the Fluance is a better record player. Also, there are almost no Fluance for sale on the resale market but a ton of AT LP120s. That to me says the Fluance is better. That's why I just ordered the RT 82
How many grooves does a 210-gram, 78 RPM record from an original 1923 pressing have in total? Hen I was a kid we just crnked the handle a few times and set the horn down. Easy-peasy.
People on the channel are confused about my enthusiasm for turntables aren’t they? It’s kind of a quiet ‘stfu show us another mouse!’ 😂😅. I learned those old 78s require a different stylus to work well, and you should never use that stylus on modern vinyl. And I can’t tell if your trolling me or really had an old 78 crank gramma phone 😂
@@EightSixMatt -- Can't please everyone, lol. The old 78s were made from a different material. Kinda like a fragile Bakelite. Thick as hell, too. I had right around 1200 records when I moved 10 years ago. Quite a few 78s. Mostly classical ones. Bach, Mozart, and the like. Had to sell all of them due to space limitations. My grandparents had a Victrola us grandkids palyed with, if that counts. Also, the trivia answer is 2. 2 grooves.
The old 78s were made out of either hard wax or shellaq. We have a collection of 78s,classical ones, and yes you need a special stylus/ cartridge ( we had a Grado cartridge , it needs like 6 gms of force.) Some of them are old enough they were recorded by mechanical recording ( we have a 1919 recording of Caruso),later ones were electrical recordings
