Clearaudio Emotion lacks dynamics

If the tonearm setup with the Emotion is the same as the Marantz TT-15 (which I think it is), simply keep one hand on the base of the arm while you loosen the set screw a bit. Raise the arm up through the plinth a bit and then re-tighten the screw.

I think that a good idea would be to use a machinist's ruler to measure where the arm is at before you make an adjustment, just to have a baseline. I measure from the bottom of the block of the tonearm lift to the plinth. With the Marantz, they have you place the tonearm weight under the block to set the height of the arm. I think that I measured this out to be about 22/32nds. I'm assuming that you're using a Clearaudio cart - If not, that could be another reason your arm might appear "off" as some carts are taller than others. If you are using a mat, you'll also need to compensate for that.

By following the directions that came with the Marantz, I also found the arm to sit a bit low on the tail end as you described. I experimented with raising the arm a bit higher, trying to get the armtube parallel to the record. In the end, I think that I ended up splitting the difference between that setting and the manufacturer's recommendation.

Is the cartridge broken in yet?

I have not found my Marantz/Clearaudio combo to have as much going on in the bottom end bloom as my Linn Lp-12/Basik/10x5 setup, however I do feel that it has a flatter response with more detail in the top end. I picked up the Linn as a 2nd TT because I felt that the Marantz was missing "something", but going back and forth between the two tables and listening did help me to fine tune the VTA on the Marantz a bit.

Hope this helps.

I'm using a Bellari VP129, and the input impedance is 50k Ohm. Both my Goldring 1012gx (previous cart) and the Virtuoso Wood have a load resistance of 47k Ohm, so I'm not so sure that is the problem.

OOPS! Re-read your post and saw that you are in fact using the Virtuoso cart. Start with a baseline measurement and work from there.

Not sure what phono stage you are using or what type of TT/Cart you may have been using before, but if you were used to listening to a cart with a fairly high-output, the Virtuoso at 3.6mv may not have as much "poop." Just a thought...

Roblanger's instructions are correct - the VTA is very easy to adjust. While I don't have the Emotion TT, I do have a Satisfy arm which is the same. The VTA set screw on the Emotion is in the plinth. You need a wrench (I assume a hex key) or screwdriver to loosen/tighten that. Use your hand to grasp the base of the arm and raise/lower it into position. Usually you want to sight the arm so it's perfectly parallel with the platter. If you start with that you can fine tune it.Sometimes it helps to have a set of shims such as a deck of cards to hold the arm height in place as you're sighting it. Be careful not to strip the set screw or the hole in the plinth.

I don't know if this is true for all tables, but I have found record players to be very dependent on where they sit. You probably have your new table set up the way your old table sounded best, which may not be working as well as it did before. You also need to give yourself some time to adjust to the new table to accurately guage its strengths and weaknesses.