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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
ezwicky
ezwicky OP
26 posts
 
Update: I cleaned the (built-in to the turntable) RCA connections at the pre-amp end with Caig De-Oxit (I use it on my motorcycle electrical connections) and now there is less of a volume discrepancy between the turntable and the CD.

Also, I have found several more records that I also have a CD of, and some of them are really close, for example Ornette Coleman’s "The Shape of Jazz to Come" and "Horowitz in Moscow".

So I am getting closer to a halfway-decent A/B setup.

Looks like now I will most likely get a better TT / cartridge. Maybe a Music-Hall or Pro-Ject, since that’s what my local hifi shop carries.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,985 posts
 
Good. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with a better front end. 

ezwicky OP
26 posts
 
Update:    I ended up getting some new components, all from Music-Hall.   And I am really glad I did.     I got the mmf-5.3 TT, bought a Herbie's mat, and have been really enjoying my old records.

I have been following some record-cleaning threads, and have been spending a lot of time cleaning my old records, and even new ones (Janos Starker Bach Cello Suites for one example) and I am finding that there is something different about playing records as opposed to CD.    Not just the sound, but the actual experience of it.   It's more of an "event", if you will, and it makes me devote more of an effort (not the right word, because it's not an effort.. it's rewarding) to actually listening and paying attention to the performances.   Rather than just as a background, as it was with CDs.

The other thing is that I am renewing my acquaintance with stuff I haven't listened to in a couple decades.   I have a couple hundred really nice Blue-Note records, and even my old Riverside records sound good after a thorough cleaning.     I haven't listened to this much McCoy Tyner and Thelonious Monk in a long time :)

Anyway, I think I digressed a bit there...  thanks for reading.

Eric
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