Low volume on turntable??

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

Al...thank you for the very kind words.

Hockey et al, What surprises me the most is that you perceived apparently decent sound in the first place, with no RIAA corrector in the circuit.  Did you notice a bizarre frequency imbalance?