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VPI HW-19 with Graham 1.5 arm Question/Suggestions

Greetings everyone, 

I have a very handsome, black oak, late model VPI HW-19 Mark IV with a black Delrin Aries platter.  The tonearm is a Graham 1.5 Basic tonearm sporting a Benz Micro MC Gold cartridge with elliptical stylus.  The tonearm cable is Audio Art IC-3 Classic phono cable DIN to RCA.

The sound is good but rather lightweight, neutral and nimble but polite, one might say meek with tight but lean bass.  It is not strident or shrill, or analytical, or bright.  Most of the turntable and phono upgrades I read about suggest that they will make the sound have more clarity, be more precise, more accurate, tighter, and lower the noise floor.  These qualities are not necessarily what I want. 

I would like the sound signature to be warmer, fuller, richer, more colorful, or more romantic.  

I am considering many options, including new phono cable, new footers, a platter mat (presently records sit directly on the Delrin platter), a different record weight-stabilizer (presently using a VPI Delrin screw-down clamp), a new shelf, and of course a different cartridge.

I welcome any suggestions from anyone on how to warm up or enrich the sound quality.

hoodjem

Showing 3 responses by tablejockey

tablejockey
3,772 posts
 

Table setup is more than competent.

Phonostage quality is paramount to make any setup sound its best.

Max your budget and forget turntable trinkets/ doo dads.

tablejockey
3,772 posts
 

" Jeff Rowland Consonance with onboard phono module.

Likely can be outdone with an outboard unit.

Simply trying a different cart may be the solution.

Your setup doesn't need add-ons to sound acceptable.

 

tablejockey
3,772 posts
 

The OP can see that recommendations and "whats wrong" are all over the place.

I've heard countless uber setups with every form of "correct" setup. Just about any decent brand/technology will sound "good."

One thing for certain is it's the sum of everything-excluding additional add on footers, mats, etc. IMO.

Trying a different cart with the existing setup makes more sense. My VPI is leagues LESS than the OP's, and there certainly isn't any shortage of performance on both ends of the spectrum.

A $500-700 Audio Technica OC9 or whatever can dramatically change the game. After that, it's what I mentioned earlier-use the best available phono stage to maximize its potential.

Source recording makes a HUGE difference in performance.

I use ML Theos, many steps below the OP's CLS. No shortage of convincing music. Subjective, of course like the rest of audiophoolery.  

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