I use the Scout and I find the table is capable of impressive low frequency response. So I doubt your table is to blame. It lacks the midbass bloom of many other tables so it can sound lean at first. And, it will take on the characteristic of whatever support you are using. Have you provided a good, stable support capable of isolating the table? Sitting atop a wonky coffee table or a wobbly, boxy entertainment center is not what works for the Scout. Additionally, you can change the sound of the table/arm somewhat by adjusting VTA. If you haven't let the cartridge run in for a few days, don't be too concerned yet. The volume control issue is probably correct depending on the amount of gain available in your phono section and the taper on your volume control. I'm uncertain just what you are referring to when by you use the word "noise" but I assume you mean "music" and "volume".

I'm unfamiliar with the Dynavector cartridge. You might find someone here who knows whether that particular model would benefit from any additional loading in the pre amp. Or, you could read a few reviews to find recommendations for cartridge loading. Most high output moving coils will do well into a standard moving magnet phono section. Did you install the cartridge or did you order a pre-assembled package? What phono pre amp are you using?

Did you follow the color coding for the cartridge pins/wires? If you connected the cartridge out of phase, you will get very weak low bass response. Check the cartridge wiring.

http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/ttsetup.html

Hi, Lukin1, welcome!

I went and looked around. As far as I can tell, that Counterpoint preamp is line level only, lacking a phono-preamp section and requiring an external phono-pre.

The fact that you have to turn the volume up so high that you generate noise before getting adequate signal volume could be due to the fact that the preamp is being used to add so much gain that you get into tiger country before getting any sort of "normal" output levels.

Also, the phono signal requires specific signal equalization in order to "sound right." I suspect the sonic characteristics you describe are due to lack of proper equalization of the signal from the cartridge.

We can talk about cartridge tracking, set-up, etc...once we determine if you are actually passing the signal through a proper phone-preamp.

Cheers, and keep us posted!

Ah, yes, if you have no dedicated phono section, either free standing or built into your pre amp, then "noise" is what you will get when you advance the volume control. Is this the case, no phono pre amp anywhere?

Quote:
Thanks Jan - I've been reading these posts for a while and you've always been very helpfull. The pre-amp I am running is a Counterpoint Solid 8 and my amplifier is the Counterpoint Solid 2. The pre-amp has an input for 'EXT PHONO' - Do I need a specific phono pre-amp? Also, the Scout came with the JMW9 Tonearm and I bought the cartridge seperately. In installing it I just connected the (4) colored wires to the corresponding terminals on the cartridge. I have lass than one hour of run time on the cartridge so I'll give it a couple of days as you've suggested.

You absolutely need a phono pre-amp. That's what external phono means. Does it have an Internal Phono RCA section?