Need some help with Analog,Just Learning

less components in the signal path is far more efficient than more components. for more components in the signal path you will also have to pay more obviously.

Having a sufficient cartridge output to directly feed the phonostage is the best.

It can take 50+ hours for the Songbird to sound its best…patience…your other gear is up to the task.

Thank you Bslon,When i sold my dac while waiting for my new dac to come.I noticed the songbird was sounding better.It has less than 10 hrs,I could be using too much gain aswell? Really good advice.Thank you Sir,You have a good looking system.

Use the gain that sounds best. In my system that’s maximum gain, which is quiet (no unwanted noise) and still gives me a good volume control range on my preamp.
There are gain calculators online, but really you need to just go with your ears.
 Also, I would double check that the cart’s set-up is correct. Then relax and enjoy.

Thank you Sir, I will double check my cart. Is there a particular scale you like? Thanks Again.