Trying to get back into Lps, I seem to be throwing

Power55, the Blackbird's electrical characteristics should match up fine with your preamp (2.5mv output and 47K ohm loading), so I don't think that's your problem. What I would wonder about for you is the set-up/alignment of the cartridge. Is this your first experience with setting up a turntable? If so, are you confident you've got the cartridge alignment (azimuth, overhang, etc) adjusted correctly? If alignment is correct, how about vertical tracking force and VTA, and have you experimented changing these (keeping in mind that these two parameters are interactive)?

If I'm not making sense to you, just say so and we can help you by stepping back a stage or two in the discussion and then helping you move forward. If you can describe what you're hearing or not hearing, that might also help us help you focus in on what to try.
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All good additional suggestions. I absolutely agree about the break-in time for the cartridge of 50 hours or so, and the possible need to break-in the phono stage on the preamp (as much as 100-200 hours).

Power55, don't worry about where you have to set your volume control to get the same volume as with your CDP. Its simply a matter of the amount of gain coming from the phono stage/cartridge combination. You're in good shape as long as the background noise from the electronic circuitry is not causing you a problem, with one caveat. If you're having to turn your volume control past about 3 o'clock, you may not have enough overall headroom (gain); the indicator for this will be somewhat limited dynamics. Overall, with 2.5mv output, I would not expect this to be an issue for you. (In your setup, a cartridge with 4.5mv output would have you setting your volume control at about the same position as with your CDP or lower.)

Bass response should come as your cartridge breaks in and as you readjust your tracking force and VTA with that break-in. Slightly higher VTF will also increase the bass output, as does slightly lower VTA. But in practice, to get the right setup, as you increase VTF you will also need to increase VTA to keep everything properly aligned and the sound properly balanced. These two adjustments are interactive. But I'd wait until you get that 50+ hours playing time on the cartridge before working to much on this. Then, read Lloyd Walker's recommendations for fine tuning your turntable and go at it by ear:
http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm

You may never get as much bass response from your Project turntable and your current phono stage as you get from your CDP. But depending on the music you enjoy, with break-in and continuing fine-tuning of your set-up, you may find yourself very pleased with the improvements elsewhere in the sonic fabric as compared to your CDP.
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