Cartridge woes

[miketruman]

I'm hoping for some help. I have an upgraded Project X2 fitted with a Hana SL cartridge. Rest of the system: Quad Artera Play +, Quad Artera power amp, Primare R35 phono stage Bluseound Icon and ATC SCM11 speakers. All deliberately chosen mid-range stuff built up over time as it suits the position I'm in and sounds very good indeed..
My problem is that the turntable's output should be better than that of the streamer and it isn't. At best it is the same and sometimes lower quality. I know there are variations in recording/pressing quality but still... I have spent ages trying to set up the cartridge, tweaking the vta and so-on, but the Project, built to a price, I suppose, is a bit crude in the adjustment department. So the question - have I over invested in a cartridge with a shibata profile that the turntable can't cope with? Should I downgrade to an MC cartridge with an easier profile, like one of the new Ortophon range. I have an Ortophon 2M blue with a damaged stylus, should I buy a new stylus and try that instead? Or should I partex the whole thing and upgrade to something that is out of my usual price range, Mitchell, Vertere, Rega or Clear Audio?
I look forward to your expert comments.

 

[nopiano]

I sense your frustration, but I’m a bit puzzled that you’re so certain “…that the turntable's output should be better than that of the streamer…”.

In what way better? The LP is a mechanical storage medium which can bring great pleasure, but objectively it cannot approach a digital stream for quality. For example, thanks to inherent noise a record can’t resolve more than 11 or 12 bits, versus even a plain old CD is 16 bit.

Has something changed recently that’s prompted your concern?