Thanks for all you responses. Let me provide some additional info in response to some questions.
First: My interconnects are 1.5M audioquest Ruby - same as I use with the CD player which is a California Audiolabs Icon MK2 with HDCD.
Second, I must confess,I don't know how to adjust for or account for capacitance or load. I have a general idea of what some of you are talking about but if you could suggest something more specific, this would help.
Third: Tubes in the SFP phono pre are NOS Mullards and in the CJ linestage are RCA NOS. I purchased them from Vintage Tube services a few years back and they always sounded great with the CD player - (way better than the stock CJ crap).
Fourth - several people suggested cartride tracking force and VTA adjustments. I have a good Shure tracking force gauge and set force per the Shelter specs to the best sound in the range (towards the 2g max sounds best to me). I do not have any VTA adjustment. The arm seems pretty level to me as is. If I add a vta adjuster, it will increase the base height and I think it might need to be lower. Also, virtually all records seem to have warp at least equal to the thickness of the thin VTA shim so I don't see how this adjustment can be so critical.
Fifth,I live in central CT and would welcome the a visit fromor to a fellow audiophile who might help me tweak my system. (I also get around the country on business - Chicago,Dallas etc)
Finally, I didn't say that CD's of the same recording sounded better than LP's. In fact, despite this slight "dryness" to the sound, the LP's sound better - but still not as good as I would have hoped or as good as a new, well recorded, audiophile cd of current jazz - a fact which simply suggests to me that audiophiles should pay more attention to the quality of the original recording than the medium it is reproduced on.
Again - thanks for the help!
First: My interconnects are 1.5M audioquest Ruby - same as I use with the CD player which is a California Audiolabs Icon MK2 with HDCD.
Second, I must confess,I don't know how to adjust for or account for capacitance or load. I have a general idea of what some of you are talking about but if you could suggest something more specific, this would help.
Third: Tubes in the SFP phono pre are NOS Mullards and in the CJ linestage are RCA NOS. I purchased them from Vintage Tube services a few years back and they always sounded great with the CD player - (way better than the stock CJ crap).
Fourth - several people suggested cartride tracking force and VTA adjustments. I have a good Shure tracking force gauge and set force per the Shelter specs to the best sound in the range (towards the 2g max sounds best to me). I do not have any VTA adjustment. The arm seems pretty level to me as is. If I add a vta adjuster, it will increase the base height and I think it might need to be lower. Also, virtually all records seem to have warp at least equal to the thickness of the thin VTA shim so I don't see how this adjustment can be so critical.
Fifth,I live in central CT and would welcome the a visit fromor to a fellow audiophile who might help me tweak my system. (I also get around the country on business - Chicago,Dallas etc)
Finally, I didn't say that CD's of the same recording sounded better than LP's. In fact, despite this slight "dryness" to the sound, the LP's sound better - but still not as good as I would have hoped or as good as a new, well recorded, audiophile cd of current jazz - a fact which simply suggests to me that audiophiles should pay more attention to the quality of the original recording than the medium it is reproduced on.
Again - thanks for the help!