Review on Fluance RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player With Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge by Jessica Rae

Update 1/24 - Must have been a bad batch because Marantz TT replacement in identical setup (cable/amp/ground/speaker/isolation table/layout sounds GREAT. Sorry RT85, lets everyone else won't experience what we've been going through for almost 2 months Update 1/17 - replaced with an identical RT85 and although slightly better - everyone who listened (friends and family) agrees it's distorted, dirty and beautiful sounds bad for this price range SO we have once again eliminated ALL external factors and environmental issues - even taken home with quality equipment and next to its P1 RT85 sounds like a toy - New: cables, preamp, amp, ground, albums, isolation pads, Headphones and even speakers - I practically rebuilt my entire audio system around this TT and it still sounds terrible to me rka What's better in di eser price range First review in December My experience with Inting was more disappointing than what I see here. I really wanted to love the RT85 but unfortunately I think I got a Lemon - maybe a bad motor or bearings producing wah and flutter 200% below specs - or maybe a bad carriage or stylus (support not sure ) Music is dirty, horribly distorted, and after over a week of frustrating attempts to remove all variables (cable, preamp, amp, ground, new records, old records, freshly cleaned, balanced, aligned, isolated, etc.) it should be back to be there! Unfortunately, Fluance seems overwhelmed with sales and support issues, so most of the time they don't respond, although they do apologize when they finally do (often a few days later). Even my 12 year old ION turntable sounds better! the experience of love for vinyl. I have a feeling that this product (the top of the range) became too popular after a period of backorders earlier this year, so it's possible the rushed production demands for Taiwan resulted in units that shipped in a hurry and weren't well tested. Hopefully others who just bought have better luck and hopefully it was just a fluke. Pros: 1. beautiful to look at, 2. auto power off (stops, no cue lift) 3. easy setup. 4. Includes white gloves to keep stains off the table. 5. well tested cartridge. 6. solid base and acrylic panel. 5. Good quality cable. Cons: 1. horrible distortion 2. no quad adjustment 3. cheap cue lever and stroke feel. 4. Slow response from manufacturer. Will be updated after one more try.