Surprised at how turntable sounds

Thanks for replying!

The turntable has a preamp already built in so it does "work" with the Sonos.

And, yes, it was inexpensive.  Having no recent experience with turntables I guess I was hoping it wasn't also cheap.  I paid just over $200, and relied on Crutchfield promotions that made it sound like it would be okay.  I suppose in the back of my mind I knew better, or should have. 

I do have a fair number of LPs.  Not like some real collectors, but maybe 100 or a little bit more.  Thanks for the recommendations audphile1.  I guess I'm going to need an upgrade.

Am I right in thinking the cartridge is the key component when it comes to turntables?  Would it work at all to just get a better cartridge for the Denon turntable I've got now?  That's mostly a matter of curiosity, though, I suppose.  I know I probably need to upgrade completely and I'll do that if II need to.

Thanks again for the comments and help.

It sounds like you have walked to edge of the analog cliff and are about to take the plunge into the abyss.  My advice is don’t jump.

  What you are noticing is the emperor has no clothes phenomenon.  The analog lovers make all sorts of claims about the so called warmth and lushness of analog. As you can tell from my sarcastic tone I am not a believer and I much prefer digital on the whole.  I maintain an analog system because I have a small number of LPs from back in the day where I think the digital masters are audibly inferior to the original analog.

  Now to be fair as you ascend the price ladder in analog the improvements become noticeable.  I haven’t priced your analog equipment but I suspect it’s at entry level.  However I urge against going into the stratosphere to seek the sonic grail.

  Now having said that the most obvious weak link in your setup is the included phono preamp in your tt.  Those are for convenience but a dedicated phono pre amp will be a major upgrade.  Unfortunately there are a lot of really bad phono prees in the budget range, and imo you need to budget about $500 minimum.  Other posters that are more knowledgeable might be able to offer quality recommendations at a lower price point and I would defer to them.  

  If lushness is the goal then get a tubed phono preamp.
 

And if adding a decent tubed phono pre doesn’t get you there, I would jump off the analog merry go round 

I'm going to end up with a Crutchfield credit balance that's enough to make buying from them preferable if they have something that will work well.  They carry:

Audio-Technica

Denon

JBL

Mobile Fidelity

Music Hall

NAD

Pro-Ject

Sony

TEAC

Technics

Victrola

Yamaha

I'm hoping to find something that will give sound quality fitting in with the rest of the stuff I've got.

Will I be able to find something for around 1K?

I don't want bluetooth.

It would be nice if a built-in preamp won't be a big downside.  I wonder about that though.

I don't want a fully automatic because I'm assuming that's referring to the old record grinders I remember from back in the day.  Or am I mistaken?

I do like the being able to just press a button to start playing a record.

A preamp built into a turntable is a big downside right there; those are made for convenience, not sound. For about $1K, you should be able to get a relatively inexpensive turntable with a relatively inexpensive cartridge and a relatively inexpensive separate phono preamp that should sound way better than what you've got. Many of those brands you've got listed have entry-level models you should look into, though I'd stick with brands that concentrate more on TT's, like AT, Denon, MoFi, Music Hall, Pro-ject, and Technics. 

Are you set on buying from Crutchfield?

If not, and you want new, for your budget I’d look to a Fluance RT85N with a Nagaoka stylus for $549. Free shipping and returns I believe. Pair that with a Schiit Skoll phono preamp for $399 and you’ll still have a couple bucks left over. And yes, a built in pre is a downside. This ought to be a big improvement over what you had.

Oops! @larsman beat me to it!