Improve volume from turntable with a new cartridge?

Hi all,

I am getting back into hifi after years of iPod and computer speakers. Last week I bought a Music-Hall integrated amp and a pair of B&W 686 S2 speakers, and a JL Audio powered 8" sub-woofer. CD player is a Sony CDP C-445 multi-disc player that I bought for $100 used. Turntable is one I have from years ago, a Technics SL-D2 direct-drive with a plastic-looking Grado cartridge, not sure of model, it was back in the early ’90s.

This morning I tried to do an A/B comparison between my turntable and my CD player. Music was Pink Floyd’s "Dark Side of the Moon". Old scratched 20-year-old CD versus brand-new bought yesterday LP from the local vinyl store.

It was difficult to do a proper A/B because every time I switched to the phono input on the amp, I had to increase the volume to about 2 o’clock, and when I switched back to the CD input I had to dial back the volume to about noon.

The amp has a phono input so I am assuming it has a built-in phono pre-amp, right? If so, why is the volume still so low? Would upgrading to a better cartridge increase the volume? I am open to a newer, better-quality turntable if it will improve the sound considerably. I have hundreds of LPs, about half of which are in good condition and would probably be good to listen to after a good cleaning, BUT I also have hundreds of CDs, and if the turntable / LP would not yield significant improvement over the CDs, then I am hesitant to invest further in analog.

So.... back to the point... if I could get close to the same volume from my phono as I do from CD, it would be easier to do a decent A/B. Could a different cartridge in my existing turntable achieve that?

Alternatively I could check with my local hifi store and see if they would let me bring home and test-drive a turntable.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your time and advice.

Eric Zwicky
Richmond VA