Weak Link in Vinyl Playback

@owl9113

So I guess we aren't going to acknowledge that it could be a super simple turntable setup issue that could be solved with a few quick measurements? Do you know what your stylus tracking force is? Have you measured that with a cheap little digital scale? What kind of platter mat are you running, and how thick is it? Do you normally play thin vintage vinyl records or a bunch of new thick 180g records? Can you check if your tonearm is level when set onto a record or is it slightly tilted one way or the other? I know adjusting the gain settings can give more of a sense of oompf and drive, but I think it's likely your turntable just needs a quick little tweak. It should sound much more full and pleasing than your digital setup without changing any hardware.

@oldrooney They’re adequately matched even though I have the phono set to level 2 rather than 1? As for my next question, and I know what is going to happen as. soon as I ask this...are you happy with the Freya + over the Freya S which technically measures better? I’ve never gone down the tube road before...

@nlitworld I’d love for it to be a free or cheap fix! Tracking force is 1.8g-2.2g, standard at 2.0 which is where I’m set and I did dial in the tracking on the turntable before setting that but have not measured with a digital scale. Platter mat is the original that came with the 1700, 3mm thick. Record listening is all over the place as far as vinyl weight. Tonearm is not perfectly level on a record, I don’t know how one would do that on my table because the height on the arm isn’t adjustable.

Like I said, there isn't one specific area I find lacking, i.e. dead bass or no highs, it just sounds a little weak overall, like adequate power isn't reaching the amp so I'm trying to find what ins't producing enough.

The Hana cartridges are full sounding....The PS Audio Stellar phono pre will give you a more full sound and if that's still not full enough....add a $200 Schiit Loki Mini ...you can EQ. fullness into the sound to suit your taste. Great little unit.....

@owl9113 I’m just going by the manufacturer’s specifications for your cartridge, AT-VM95ML which is not that much different than the Shibata-tipped model (except it is a lot cheaper). The impedance loading at the phono stage should be 47 kilOhms and the capacitance loading should be between 100 and 200 picoFarads. These are fairly standard values. Your cartridge puts out 3.5 milliVolts, which is higher than the standard 2.5 mV, you should be fine at a gain of ‘1’ (36 dB of gain, although Ifi allows you to move up to a gain of ‘2’ if the system is not producing enough volume. However, as the Ifi manual states, on p. 18 in their FAQ “How do I Know which Cartridge Setting is Right for Me” that you may well not be able to match the volume of CDs or downloads because vinyl recordings are less ‘loud’ since they encompass a greater dynamic range than CDs or downloads [due to the ‘loudness wars of the 80’s, etc.] (contra @nlitworld above, and from my experience, vinyl recordings are quieter, but the needles bounce more).
Regarding the Schiit products, if I had it to do over again, I might choose the Freya S, I still pick up a gain of 4 (12 dB), but I don’t have the heat and distortion from the tubes, not to mention the ability to stack other items on top, like a Schiit DAC or an Ifi phono stage. The difference for me, between a gain of 1 (0 dB) and a gain of 4 (12 dB) was about a 1/4 turn on the dial, maybe a bit more. If you’re maxed out at a gain of 1 on Saga, you should expect to get the same volume at 2 or 3:00 that you’re now getting at 5:00 (considering the volume knob as a clock face. It sounds like that is what you’re looking for.

Edit: The Crutchfield add cited various capacitance loadings, but I could find no reference in the Ifi manual. Again, the capacitance issue, while critical if not correct, should be ‘close enough’ at this point in your audio journey. You can keep it in mind when you decide to upgrade from the Ifi Zen in your system now, but I still am with Herb on this one, your immediate problem in getting satisfactory performance from your system is the lack of gain at the preamp. Scratch where you itch, you’ll feel better for it.