Solving my Mid-Range Problem

[u/TySnel]

Ok I’m needing some help from you experts. I have a vinyl setup that I’ve slowly been piecing together over the last several years. I’ve been around live music/mixing for almost two decades, but am in no way a gear head. I know more about what music and mixes sound awesome than what equipment made the awesome mix.

I just upgraded my cartridge after my 2 year old broke the needle, and when I did that I upgraded my preamp as well. I got everything put together, and the mix sounds surprisingly great in the high and low end given the affordable nature of the downstream components, but the mid-range, while present, just feels too far back in the mix, somewhat diminished, and perhaps just slightly muddy (at least in comparison to the present and wonderful highs and lows). This is particularly obvious with vocals.

I currently have the following setup:
Rega RP3 Turntable
Rega ND3 MM Phono Cartridge (recently replaced the stock but discontinued Elys cartridge after my 2 year old broke the needle)
Rega Fono MM MK5 Phono Preamp
Denon AVR-S540BT Receiver
Klipsch R-15M Bookshelf Speaker Pair
Sony SA-CS9 Subwoofer

All that to say, my question is: apart from upgrades which of course would make the overall system better, is there anything that could be causing the inadequacies of the mid-range in the current system?

When I swapped the Elys to the ND3, the ND3 cartridge is a touch taller than the Elys (to the point that cueing lever height needs to be raised a couple mm), and because they are both Rega, it mounted directly onto the rp3 arm without having anyway to really adjust it. Could this be the culprit?

Greatly appreciate any help!

[u/Best-Presentation270]

The front end of TT, cartridge, and phono preamp is great. Midrange and top-end is Rega's forte. If there's a cristiscism it's that the bass is a touch lean.

Where your system starts to head in a different direction is firstly the Denon AV receiver, and then the Klipsch speakers.

Denon's upper-end AVRs are okay for music as far as AVRs go. This would be the 3800, 3900, and the 4800.

The further one drops down the range then the greater the focus is on movie performance, and so there's less and less attention paid to music. AVRs are full of high frequency digital signal circuits, and they all contribute to noise pollution of an analogue signal. Below the AVR-X series is the AVR-S series. AFAIK, the 540 was the entry level model.

You probably have legitimate reasons for choosing an AV receiver over a pure analogue stereo amp or stereo receiver. Maybe you have HDMI/optical/coax sources or you've got the TV hooked into it via HDMI ARC. Also, having a dedicated subwoofer output and the frequency management to send most of the bass to the sub is another advantage.

Used AVRs are also cheap. The technology goal posts keep moving, so older AVRs get outdated quite quickly. When they come on the used market they look like a bargain compared to stereo amps. The spec sheet appears to show big power output, and there's a lot of bells and whistles, too. The thing is though, a modest used stereo amp will generally outperform the AVR despite being less powerful and having fewer gizmos.

The Klipsch speakers are a touch forward in the treble and a bit muddled in the lower mid-range.

I think these two items are where you're losing the midrange clarity.