Fluance RT87 Dual-Plinth Turntable Launches at $799.99
Fluance has a new flagship in its Reference turntable line. The RT87 Reference High Fidelity Dual-Plinth Turntable is available now at $799.99 in the United States.
$799 is still a lot for a stereo music source, but in the world of serious analog playback, it is not crazy money. The pitch is simple: give vinyl listeners a more mechanically serious platform, with isolation, adjustability, and cartridge flexibility, without sending the price into boutique territory.
The Dual-Plinth Point
The headline feature is the RT87’s dual-plinth architecture. Fluance mounts the motor on the lower plinth, while the tonearm and cartridge assembly sit on a decoupled upper plinth separated by precision conical isolators.
The goal is to keep motor vibration and room-borne energy from finding their way to the stylus. The stylus is doing absurdly delicate work. Anything that gets into that mechanical chain can degrade the sound.
Fluance also uses dense wood plinths to damp mechanical resonance. On paper, this is the part of the RT87 that separates it from the company’s simpler decks. The table itself is built around isolation.
Tonearm, Platter, and Cartridge Choices
The RT87 uses a newly engineered 9-inch carbon fiber tonearm designed for low resonance, high rigidity, and better stylus control. The longer straight-arm geometry is meant to trace a gentler arc across the record, reducing tracking error compared with a shorter arm.
Just as important, Fluance includes adjustable vertical tracking angle, a removable headshell, and a hanging-weight anti-skate system. Those are not glamorous features, but they are the kind of things that matter if you plan to dial in cartridges rather than treat the turntable as a sealed appliance.
The cartridge options are credible, too. One version comes with the Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML, a moving-magnet cartridge with a Microlinear stylus aimed at detail retrieval and low distortion. The other uses the Ortofon 2M Blue, the familiar moving-magnet option for listeners who want a balanced, musical presentation without getting weird about it.
Under the record is a 4.1-pound, 22-millimeter anti-static acrylic platter. Fluance says the extra mass improves rotational stability and helps reduce wow and flutter, while acrylic’s behavior is close enough to vinyl to help suppress unwanted resonance. The belt-drive system supports 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM playback and includes auto-stop.
Built to Be Upgraded
The RT87 also includes gold-plated Tiffany RCA connections and precision-machined tonearm components. More importantly, the platform is not boxed into one cartridge forever. Between the removable headshell, VTA adjustment, and anti-skate setup, this looks like a turntable meant to grow with a system.
That is the AOAB angle. The cheapest turntable is not always the best budget turntable. A deck that can be adjusted, upgraded, and kept in service for years can make a stronger argument than something cheaper that hits a wall as soon as the rest of the system improves.
Pricing and Availability
The Fluance RT87 is available now in Natural Walnut, Piano White, and Piano Black. Pricing is $799.99 USD in the United States, with Fluance listing $699.99 USD internationally. It is available through Fluance.com and Amazon.com.
No, $799.99 is not an impulse-buy record player. But for a dual-plinth deck with a carbon fiber arm, acrylic platter, cartridge choice, VTA, and real upgrade hooks, the RT87 lands in a part of the market where the value question is interesting. The specs suggest Fluance is trying to move its Reference line from “good for the money” toward something closer to a serious analog foundation.
