Low volume on turntable??

Thanks Mark, I'll start a new thread for the cartridge. Thanks again to everyone!!

I did calibrate the counter weight and anti-skate appropriately for the new cartridge....

I would add to the excellent inputs you’ve received from the others that anti-skating recommendations provided by the manufacturers of many turntables are often much too high. In many cases those recommendations correspond numerically to the tracking force, which would certainly result in too much anti-skating force.

See my two posts dated 4-11-2016 in this thread for how I would recommend that anti-skating be adjusted, at least in the case of most moving magnet cartridges, including yours.

Also, I couldn’t find a spec on the input capacitance of the Audible Illusions Modulus 3A (or for the phono section of the Sony receiver), but that can be a parameter that is important when selecting a suitable cartridge. It would probably be a good idea to contact Audible Illusions and ask them if they can tell you what that value is.

The sum of the input capacitance of the preamp’s phono stage and the capacitances of the phono cable and turntable wiring should **approximately** conform to the load capacitance that is recommended for the particular cartridge, by its manufacturer. If (as I suspect) the DP-31L turntable has a phono cable that is not detachable, and is in the vicinity of 5 feet long, figure on roughly 150 pf (picofarads) or thereabouts for the total wiring and cable capacitance (to which the input capacitance of the phono stage that is within the receiver or preamp would add, as I indicated). I see that your present cartridge has a recommended load capacitance of 100 to 200 pf.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Al, nice to see you take part here.  hockey4496, Almarg always has some excellent experience and insight...

Very insightful indeed Al, I appreciate your taking the time to look into those details. I’m going to start a new thread for the cartridge question but in the mean time I would love to hear your thought on a cartridge you would choose under $100? I know you gave me your thoughts with details I would equally endorse in my selection, but considering my budget at this stage I would value your thoughts on a cartridge you’d endorse under $100, negating all other factors. I only say that because I will be using my current setup for a minimum of 1 year, and after that I don’t know yet which TT I’ll upgrade to. So really I’m just looking for the best investment i can make today. I’m sure with the level of quality the Sony phono stage is providing, one pico magnitude off won’t be too harsh on my novice ears 😁 Thanks again for taking the time to share you’re knowledge, my interest is peeked anytime someone talks real physics. That’s my sh*t (no better way to say it)

Mark & Hockey4496, thanks for the nice words. I don’t have specific knowledge, though, that would enable me to suggest a cartridge in that price range that I feel confident would be a meaningful upgrade to your AT-95E.

But in addition to the responses you may receive in the cartridge thread you have just started, I would pay particular attention to the comment above by Mofimadness, as his knowledge of and experience with vinyl playback is pretty much unparalleled. Although his comment that "I have the AT95E on one of my tables and it’s a great little performer," together with the many favorable comments that cartridge has received at Amazon and NeedleDoctor, suggests to me that going to another cartridge in the sub-$100 range may not provide as much improvement as you might be hoping for.

In any event, do check your anti-skating per my earlier suggestion.

Good luck! Regards,
-- Al