Change the cartridge or phono stage

I am not sure why everyone on this thread is obsessed with your set-up. I will assume that you have a cart that is properly set up and that any new cart will be set up properly by you or a dealer. Yes, this is very important.

Like many audio components, some carts and phono stages are warmer than others. Not knowing your phono stage or cart, I can't comment on the relative benefit of replacing one or the other. Though it is usually said that the transducers, which convert physical movement to electricity (carts) or electricity to physical movement (speakers) are the most important parts of the audio chain, and these may also exhibit the greatest variability.

You may get some good warm cart and phono stage recs in this thread, but there should also be a number of other threads with recs that offer suggestions.

A Morrow PH-4 phono cable from TT to pre did a lot of that for me.

EL84 sounds better IMHO.

EL 84 IS better, price of decent EL 84 tubes is not.

Roscoeiii ;
That is an interesting theory on the transducer transformations .
I went through a bunch of phono stage threads and did not find much useful info for my situation . The Music Hall PA1.2 phono stage is SS and I do prefer tubes that are on the warmer side of things such as EL-34's . I don't know where the Ortofon cartridge sits in the warm/cool range .

Almarg ;
I have sent an email to Music Hall .

I will start another thread asking for recs for a particular
component when I decide which way to go .

Thank you