Step-Up or Not to Step-Up: This is the Question

A day ago for a first time I plugged new to me Oracle Delphi MK 1 turntable with moving coil cartridge Denon DL-301 into DK Design integrated hybrid amplifier with build-in phono stage to be amazed how clear and vibrant the sound of vinyl is.
But as I described in my previous post because of low output of MC cartridge I have to dial amp's volume knob all the way to 5 o'clock position to get a decent volume. But that is not a main concern... DK Design has some LOUD function which when turned ON adds some substantial bass to the sound. It is very effective on low volume...to be exact...it functions well with volume knob at position between 8 and 12 o'clock. Anywhere beyond 12 o'clock mark the LOUD function fades out with no effect at 3 o'clock.
Without this LOUD function the bass response is pretty weak. I like it more when it is ON. But since the turntable output is so low I have to use a volume between 12 and 5 o'clock...where the LOUD function stops working.
In order to gain a missing bass I see two possible solutions:
First is to get step-up MC cartridge amp. This will let me use a volume knob between 8 and 12 o'clock where LOUD function works. But this solution will add more circuity and more interconnect cables.
Second solution is to add active sub-woofer and keep using amp at 12-5 o'clock volume knob's position.
I wonder what which solution is more elegant?