Enter the True Hi-Fi Zone: The Fluance RT85

You don’t realize how rare steadiness is until you hear it.

Most turntables get the basics wrong. They chase style over silence, weight over balance. The result is familiar — a faint hum, a subtle drift, a platter that never quite holds steady.

The Fluance RT85 doesn’t. It just holds speed — perfectly, consistently, effortlessly.

You can tell before the music even starts. The platter settles without tremor. The tonearm lowers with quiet assurance, like it already knows where it’s going. And when the stylus meets the groove, everything locks in — the warmth, the channel balance, the stillness underneath the sound.

That’s the difference between gear and craft. A cheap table will play a record; the RT85 disappears and lets the record play itself.

There’s no Bluetooth, no shortcuts, no gimmicks. Just an acrylic platter, an Ortofon 2M Blue, and the rare satisfaction of a machine that does one thing exactly right.

Table of Contents

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the Fluance RT85, broken down into the following sections:

1. High Level Overview: What is the Fluance RT85
2. Build & Features of the Fluance RT85
3. Comparing to Other Mid-Level Turntables
4. Is the Fluance RT85 Right for you?
5. Conclusion: Is It Worth It?

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High Level Overview: What is the Fluance RT85

If you’re here, you’re probably in one of two camps:

You’re looking to upgrade from an LP60/70X…or this just happens to be your first real turntable. If that’s the case…jeez…congrats. You are diving into vinyl listening HARD.

The Fluance RT85 sits in that upper-echelon, hall-of-fame zone of “you buy it once and forget about it.”
It’s steady, it’s precise, and it delivers on that rich, rich vinyl sound.

One quick thing to know upfront: the RT85 does not have a built-in preamp.

That means you’ll need either a separate phono stage (or an amp/receiver with a PHONO input), or a pair of powered speakers with a preamp built in (rare, but they exist).

If you want true plug-and-play simplicity, a turntable with a built-in preamp might fit you better. You can explore the other great options in the space with our compatibility tool, But if you’re ready for a little more performance — this is exactly the tier where vinyl starts getting fun.

Build & Features of the Fluance RT85

Alright, time to pop the hood on this thing. The RT85 is basically Fluance taking everything people liked about their entry models…and then turning all the knobs up. It’s still “starter-friendly” on paper, but the parts list is very much mid/advanced-tier.

Here’s the quick snapshot of what you’re actually getting:

The big upgrades are obvious:

• Acrylic platter. This is one of the reasons people talk about the RT85 like it’s “endgame enough.” Acrylic adds mass and does a better job killing resonance than a basic metal platter + rubber mat. Records couple directly to the surface, speed stays locked in, and you get a blacker background—less hash, more music.
• Ortofon 2M Blue out of the box. Most tables in this price range ship with something you’ll eventually want to swap. Here, that “eventual upgrade” is already done. The 2M Blue is a real hi-fi cartridge: nude elliptical stylus, great detail, really nice separation. It’s the kind of cart people put on other turntables as an upgrade, not something you expect included.
• A real plinth, not a plastic shell. Underneath the finish, the RT85 is built on an MDF plinth with proper damping and isolation feet. It feels planted on a surface, which matters more than people think—less vibration coming back into the stylus, less rumble, cleaner playback.
• Proper tonearm and adjustments. You get an S-shaped aluminum arm with an adjustable counterweight and anti-skate. Nothing wild, just the basics done correctly so you can actually set tracking force, keep the stylus sitting right in the groove, and avoid chewing up records. Auto-stop at the end of the side is a nice quality-of-life touch and can be switched off if you don’t want it.

Put simply: there’s nothing “toy” about this thing. Every major component—platter, cartridge, motor, plinth, tonearm is specced like a turntable that expects to live in your system for a long time, not something you upgrade out within the year.

Comparison to Other Entry-Level Turntables

Once you step into RT85 territory, you’re no longer comparing “budget options”

You’re now in that middle lane where the contenders are real, the differences matter, and the upgrades actually translate to better sound.

Yes – there are cheaper tables out there. And if you squint, they might look similar.

But those savings usually show up in all the wrong places:

• plastic platters
• lower-end cartridges
• non-adjustable tonearms
• motors that drift

They’ll will absolutely play your records, but I think we all know you wan’t a fair bit more than that.

On the other end, once you start climbing past the RT85’s price point, the improvements are there… but the jump isn’t as dramatic as you’d expect.

So here are the closest competitors in our eyes and why the RT85 stands as a great option among this competitive field.

The Gold Standard “Entry-Level” Turntable

A Close Comparison

Another Brilliant Table

To recap:

• RT85: The move when you’re ready for “real hi-fi” without going completely off the deep end. Acrylic platter, 2M Blue, and rock-solid speed control make it feel way more expensive than it is.
• RT82: The value play. Same Fluance DNA, same core engineering, just with a lighter platter and OM10 cart. Perfect if you want most of the performance for noticeably less cash.
• Orbit Plus: The minimalist option. Clean design, acrylic platter, and a great cart — ideal if you care as much about how it looks on the rack as how it sounds.
• Planar 1: Now you’re in classic hi-fi territory. Rega pedigree, beautiful tonearm, serious upgrade path. Best if you’re okay paying a bit more for the name, the tuning, and the long game.

Conclusion: Is It Worth It?

Yes—the RT85 is the real thing. Not a “nice upgrade from your first deck,” but the point where you stop wondering if your turntable is the weak link.

The acrylic platter, 2M Blue, and rock-solid speed control don’t feel like flashy add-ons—they’re the reason this table disappears and just lets the record sit still and breathe. If you’ve been living with an LP60, LP70x, or an entry starter deck, this is the moment where you finally hear what everyone means by “black background” and “detail” without having to squint for it.

Is it overkill for casual background spins? Probably. But if you’re putting real money into records and want a front end that won’t hold the rest of your system back, the RT85 is exactly that: a grown-up turntable you can build around for years.

If you’re wondering what to pair it with, that’s where the Builder comes in.

Pick the RT85, test it with different amps and speakers, and see exactly how the whole setup pencils out before you buy anything.

And if you got to the end of this and thought, “Honestly, I just want one box that works,” that’s okay too. Our All-in-One Record Player guide rounds up the few compact, safe options that don’t wreck your records and still sound good in a small space.

Either way, you’re in the right lane. Once you hear a setup at this level, it’s really hard to go back.