Not to come off a snob, but a $300 turntable isn't really going to sound "impressive" as you say, so maybe you're just expecting too much. I have owned the Music Hall MMF5 and found it to be quite excellent for the money, but it still is quite a bit more money than the Debut. That said, before I changed anything, I would try a Herbies mat. It made a huge difference on my Music Hall, to the point I wouldn't have thought possible. It's full money-back, so there's no risk. OTOH, it totally screwed up my Linn, which shows you that nothing works on everything. Try it, it may solve your problems very inexpensively. Good luck.
Advice on Phono Cartridge
Hello All!
I have a Pro-Ject Debut III with the original Ortofon OM-5 cartridge. I have never been very impressed with the sound of the table/cartridge. I am looking at upgrading the cartridge and I am most interested in The Ortofon 2M Blue or the Denon DL-103R. I would like to stay under $300 for a cartridge. I haven't really heard any other cartridges. People seem to have a lot of good things to say about those two, but I'm open to others as well. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!