Dodgealum,
I've followed this thread for awhile and am still puzzled as to why you're hearing the dramatic difference that you are. If you're willing to spend about $10 and a couple of hours of time, I would at least try a different arrangement to be sure the problem is in your analog rig. First, move your coffee table (or some other suitable table) over near your cabinet. Buy a 1.5x20 inch bicycle tube and a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to fit your tt. Place the tube on the table and the plywood on that and inflate the tube SLIGHTLY - just enough to raise the plywood shelf a bit. Now you've got simple, but effective, pneumatic isolation. Then put the tt on that and get it perfectly leveled, and hook it up and play it. If the differences are still dramatic, you've only spent a few dollars and some time to determine that you need to upgrade or change - at least the cartridge. If they're no longer dramatic, you know you need to relocate the tt. A second idea is, are you sure the Esoteric player isn't coloring the sound in some way that you consider pleasing? Is it a tube unit?
I've followed this thread for awhile and am still puzzled as to why you're hearing the dramatic difference that you are. If you're willing to spend about $10 and a couple of hours of time, I would at least try a different arrangement to be sure the problem is in your analog rig. First, move your coffee table (or some other suitable table) over near your cabinet. Buy a 1.5x20 inch bicycle tube and a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to fit your tt. Place the tube on the table and the plywood on that and inflate the tube SLIGHTLY - just enough to raise the plywood shelf a bit. Now you've got simple, but effective, pneumatic isolation. Then put the tt on that and get it perfectly leveled, and hook it up and play it. If the differences are still dramatic, you've only spent a few dollars and some time to determine that you need to upgrade or change - at least the cartridge. If they're no longer dramatic, you know you need to relocate the tt. A second idea is, are you sure the Esoteric player isn't coloring the sound in some way that you consider pleasing? Is it a tube unit?