Best way to warm up the sound

The cable from the TT to the phono stage is @ 46 inches long . It came from Music Hall .
I could easily go with a 12-14 inch cable for my present setup . The cables from the Phono stage to the integrated amp are copper by Tributaries .
The cartridge says Magic-3 in blue letters on the top and Ortofon on the front in black letters .
The CDP sounds as sweet as ever so I don't see a problem with the speaker or amp set up .
I have an email on the way to Music Hall concerning the load capacitance issue for the Ortofon cartridge .
This is the second reference concerning the transducers offering the biggest change ! hmmm .

Capacitance is 100-400 .

100 to 400 pf is an unusually wide range for recommended loading of a moving magnet cartridge. My suspicion is that the tonal balance of the cartridge will vary significantly within that range.

As a rough guess, the capacitance of the 46 inch phono cable plus the 120 pf input capacitance of the phono stage plus the capacitance of the turntable's internal wiring and connectors is perhaps a bit more than 300 pf.

The lowest capacitance low cost decent quality cable I am aware of is Blue Jeans LC-1, at about 12 pf/foot, and $27.75 for a 1.5 foot stereo pair. Using that cable in that length would probably cut the total load capacitance almost in half, and would be a worthwhile experiment IMO. Even if it didn't solve the problem, having that cable would expand your options in the future if you ultimately decide to go to a different cartridge.

I am assuming, btw, that the connectors on the rear of the turntable are RCAs, as appears to be the case based on the illustration in the manual.

That cable, like most RCA cables that are available these days, does not include a separate ground wire. You could either use the ground wire of the existing cable for that purpose, while leaving the RCAs of the existing cable unconnected, or else use some plain old 18 or 20 gauge hookup wire, which is readily available at Radio Shack and elsewhere.

If you ultimately find yourself wanting to experiment with higher load capacitances, consider spending $49 on this kit, listed as part number DBP-6 here.

It's certainly possible that doing these things won't fully or even mostly resolve the issue, but even if that proves to be the case doing these experiments will minimize the likelihood that you end up compensating for one inaccuracy by introducing or increasing another one, which is usually not the best way to go.

Regards,
-- Al

Ok , thank you Almarg . I ordered the cable and will see what effect it has .

If you're satisfied with the sound from your CDP, then I would turn my attention to either the phono preamp or the cartridge. But before investing in another phono stage, I would check the cartridge's alignment. I can't speak for Ortofon, but I know the sound from my Grado varies with the VTA. Something like "heel up" and the sound is tinny, "heel down" and the sound is boomy (I might have that reversed, I don't remember). I had to vary the VTA (and overhang) till I got it "tuned in" to my liking.

My gut tells me you're eventually going to end up with a better phono preamp before you're satisfied. Right now I'm using a Jolida JD9, which has the gain of solid state with a cathode follower tube output stage. It has more than enough settings to accommodate most any cartridge or system, and is designed to be very upgradable. Op-amps, tubes and output capacitors are easy to swap, and the basic unit is very reasonable, around $499.

Check out "The official JD9" thread on AudioKarma for more information.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=344317

I'm not saying it's the last word in phono preamps, but the Jolida is very adaptable and clear sounding. I didn't realize how misaligned my cartridge (Low output Grado Statement Sonata1) was until I got my JD9, it is very revealing. A few changes here and there and my vinyl has never sounded so good.