I just started up my new turntable

Dear Underdog: IMHO I think that the most important " thing " is that the cartridge run for another 20 hours before settle down and before you really " worry " about its quality performance.

It is after these 20 hours ( maybe more. ) when you will start the cartridge " fine tunning " set up: VTA/SRA, VTF, overhang, load impedance, Azymuth and the like.

Let the cartridge " go on " with no in deep " critic ". You only have one hour of playing time, not enough.

regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Try increasing the VTA. My first table was setup by a pro and VTA was set to high for my taste!!!

Everyone talks about cartridge break-in, cable break-in, electronics break-in and speaker break-in but no-one mentions turntable break-in?
This is a mechanical/electrical appliance with spindles, seating, bearings, motor/s and connections.
Why should it not suffer from, and require, the same sort of break-in time as other components?
I know my Raven AC turntable certainly sounded recessed in the midrange and less than spectacular until it had about 12 hours of play on it.
Be patient with your VPI turntable. It should settle with time.
Good luck.

What loading are you using for the Ortofon A90 cart on your phono? By the way, what phono are you using?

Speak with "Vetterone" on this site, he has EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE of the ae-90 and for that matter most things analog!

Good luck and tell himl Jake says "hi"