I’ve owned and absolutely loved my Fluance RT85 with the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge for several years. It’s one of those rare pieces of gear that just disappears into the music—it looks great, sounds even better, and honestly never gave me a reason to upgrade. I constantly recommend Fluance turntables, at all levels, but the RT85 was, and still is, a fantastic deal.

Then, on June 15, Fluance dropped the RT87

So, I did what any financially irresponsible-but-audiophile-curious person would do: I sold my old setup (and a few other things, a record shelf and some speakers) and used the funds to step up to Fluance’s new flagship. Now I’ve had some time with it, and the short version is this: it sounds amazing. But whether it’s $250 better than the RT85?… that’s where things get interesting. And just a heads up, some of the links on this page are affiliate links, and if clicked, RMR may earn a small commission. So, to be clear, I purchased this turntable through Amazon and did not receive one from Fluance for this review. At RMR, we try to review products that we personally use, so this is an independent, hands-on review—with the obvious caveat that I really dig Fluance.

What’s Actually New on the RT87?

Fluance didn’t just tweak the RT85 with a few updates -they rebuilt the foundation in a few key ways. This isn’t a minor or cosmetic refresh; it’s a completely new platform. From the redesigned dual-layer plinth and upgraded isolation feet to the new carbon fiber tonearm and revised anti-skate system, nearly every part that influences performance has been considered. If you’re curious what the RT87 costs or want to see the available finishes, you can check the current price on Amazon below.

Dual-Plinth Isolation System

Instead of a single plinth like the RT85, the RT87 separates the motor and tonearm into two physically decoupled layers. The idea is simple: keep vibration from the motor and environment away from the stylus as much as possible. The plinth comes in three finishes, white (obviously), black, and natural walnut.

In theory, this lowers the noise floor and improves clarity and imaging. I can’t quantify that, and I didn’t hear a night-and-day difference. The RT85 already sounded excellent, and any improvements here are more in the realm of refinement than revelation.

Carbon Fiber Tonearm with VTA Adjustment

The new carbon-fiber tonearm is lighter and more rigid than the RT85’s S-shaped arm. That matters because a tonearm isn’t supposed to add anything to the signal; it should simply hold the cartridge steady while the stylus follows the groove.

As the stylus moves through a record groove, tiny mechanical vibrations are being generated constantly. Some of those vibrations can cause the tonearm itself to resonate, much like a tuning fork. Those vibrations can make their way back to the cartridge and subtly impact the sound, reducing the cartridge’s ability to accurately follow the groove.

The goal of a well-designed tonearm is to control those vibrations rather than let them become part of what you hear. The carbon-fiber arm’s combination of low mass and rigidity helps it resist and dissipate those unwanted resonances, allowing the cartridge to track the groove more cleanly.

And you can hear the difference: cleaner, clearer, more detailed sound. In my opinion, this could be the greatest improvement over the RT85. And it looks great. Nothing better than a bit of carbon fiber.

The added VTA (vertical tracking angle) adjustment is also a big deal if you like dialing in cartridges properly. The RT85 always felt a bit “set and forget” – which is great. But the RT87 feels more like a platform you can actually fine-tune. In reality, I like the fact that this is a feature, but honestly, I’ll probably never really use it. I don’t swap cartridges, so for my listening habits it’s more of a “nice to have” than a must-have feature. Even so, it adds flexibility and makes the RT87 a turntable you can grow into rather than grow out of.

Weight-Based Anti-Skate System

Instead of a dial like you’ll find on most of Fluance’s turntables, the RT87 uses a hanging weight for anti-skate – learn more about Anti-Skate here. And aside from just looking cool, it’s a system that has been around the block…it’s actually one of the older, more traditional ways of handling anti-skate, and it’s still used today because it’s simple and effective.

It looks old-school (almost like a lab experiment), but it’s actually a very consistent mechanical solution. No guessing, no markings – just physics doing the work.

4.1-lb Acrylic Platter

Heavier and thicker than the RT85’s platter, this adds rotational stability and improves vibration damping. Whether the difference is measurable in a real-world setup is debatable, but it does contribute to that sense of “effortless” playback.

Dual-Plinth Vibration Control

This is the headline engineering change. Motor on one isolated layer, tonearm on another. This is where Fluance is clearly trying to move beyond “very good $500 turntable” territory into something closer to entry-level audiophile.

Sound: Better… but how much?

This is the tricky part. The RT85 with the Ortofon 2M Blue already punches way above its price. So the RT87 isn’t a night-and-day upgrade, it’s more like refinement on an already very mature sound.

What I’m hearing:

• A much quieter background between notes
• Better separation in busy passages
• A more “solid” center image
• Tighter, more impactful bass, even with my sub turned off
• And just a bit more detail retrieval in the highs

So, here’s the honest truth:

With the RT87, I was hearing instruments differently. Things that were already there on the RT85 seemed to have a little more definition and separation, and I found myself noticing individual instruments in different places within the soundstage. A guitar might seem to occupy a more distinct position, a vocal might feel more clearly separated from the instruments around it, or something buried deeper in the mix would suddenly seem easier to pick out. It wasn’t that the RT87 was adding information that wasn’t on the record; it was presenting what was already there in a way that made those things easier for me to hear and place.

So to me, that, more than anything, is what makes the RT87 interesting. This is a completely different turntable than the RT85. It sounds better, the tonearm is better and you can hear the difference. When you start listening to familiar records and realizing you’re hearing the arrangement a little differently – where instruments sit, how they separate from one another, and what’s happening behind the main presentation – that’s the kind of improvement that can make the extra money worthwhile.

What I Didn’t Like: Not much. I loved the new RT87 – it sounds wonderful and it looks better. However, it’s not perfect. Many YouTube reviews mention that the belt feels a bit cheap or flimsy, and I don’t disagree—it does. But that’s not my biggest issue. Because the belt is round instead of flat, it doesn’t seem to grip the platter as well. And often, when I remove a record, I end up accidentally pulling the belt off with it. Maybe I just have bad record-removing technique, but it’s happened often enough to become genuinely annoying. It’s a small thing, but when you’re swapping records regularly, having to put the belt back on every few albums takes away from the otherwise premium experience. I mentioned this to Fluance, and though I’ve not heard anything back. Hopefully, newer generations of this table will have a flat belt.

The RT87 is:

• More refined
• More adjustable
• More isolated
• More “future-proof” as a platform

Worth it? Absolutely.

I love it. That’s the simplest answer. I love the way it looks. I love the way it sounds. The tonearm is cool and the hanging weight antiskate takes me back to a more vintage feel. It looks more premium, feels more engineered, and absolutely sounds excellent. But I can’t honestly say it transforms the experience in a way that makes the RT85 obsolete.

It’s less of an upgrade and more of a move into a slightly more serious tier of the same hobby.

Bottom line: you really can’t mess up buying the RT85. It’s still ridiculously good.

That said, if the RT87 upgrades speak to you and feel worth the extra $250 – go for it. It’s not a life-changing difference, but it is a more refined, more dialed-in version of an already great table.

I’ll eventually line it up against a friend’s RT85 and do a proper side-by-side comparison – and I’ll update at that time. Bottom line, you can’t go wrong with either the RT85 or the RT87.

So, Where Does the RT87 Fit?

If you don’t already own an RT85, I think the RT87 is worth looking at on its own. It’s not simply a slightly upgraded version of the RT85 – it’s a completely different and very good turntable in its price range and, in my opinion, sits comfortably in the upper end of the sub-$1,000 “audiophile” category.

You’re getting a solid platform, a good tonearm, a quality cartridge (the Ortofon 2M Blue goes for $220 on its own) and the kind of attention to vibration control that you don’t always find on less expensive decks. It isn’t a crazy, high-end turntable, and you can certainly spend considerably more and get better performance. But at this level, you’re getting a deck that can let a good cartridge and a good record collection really shine without getting into serious money.

For someone looking for a substantial step up from an entry-level turntable, the RT87 is a deck I would take seriously. It’s the kind of turntable you can enjoy for years rather than immediately start thinking about replacing.