Need to turn volume all the way up with cartridge


I am using a Madrigal Carnegie One 25 millivolt output and have to turn the volume all the way up for decent volume. Now my question is do I need to get a better phono stage that can amplify the sound or what causes it.
128x128pdxhdhunter
It sounds like you need more gain. That doesn't necessarily mean a 'better' phono stage, just as amplifiers with more power don't necessarily sound better than lower powered amps.

You either need a phono stage with more gain, or you can use the same phono stage and add a Step Up Transformer. Either way, your cartridge will play louder.

My cartridge has a 0.24 mV output, and my phono stage has 66 db of gain, how much gain does your phono stage have? I'll assume you meant that your cartridge has a 0.25 mV output.

Cheers,
John
What John says. You can also stick with your present phono stage and get a cartridge with a higher output, say, one with 2.5 mV.