Brand new to vinyl: Help!

@tablejockey  when you say "value cart", did you mean "cartridge"?

How do I know which cartridge is compatible with my turntable?

@thyname,

I own a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB. Here is what I did to improve the stock performance, at a moderate price:

Replaced the stock interconnect cable with a cable from Audio Sensibility. Significant improvement IMHO. I paid the $10 extra for break-in service so I didn't have to wait days/weeks.....

Performed a complete re-alignment, including level, overhang, azmuth and tracking force. VTA was checked and was OK, but not easily adjustable.

Replaced the Ortofon 2M Red Stylus with a 2M Blue Stylus. When I did this, the cartridge moved in the headshell and I performed a complete re-alignment again.

I like to sound I'm getting at this price point.

+1 reubent.  FWIW, I'd start with the 2M Blue stylus and complete re-alignment.  Those things often have a bigger effect than cables.  I'm not a big fan of XLR adapters; just another mechanical interface set to introduce noise.  Caig DeOxit should be all you might conceivably need given the age of your gear.

Cartridge compatibility is not a concern; your Ayre will handle pretty much anything.  Just make sure your phono section gain is set to 40 dB and resistance is 50 kOhms for your 2M Red or any other MM cart.

That said, some speakers like some cartridges better than others.  That's something that is largely subjective and has been addressed in many other threads.  Again, I wouldn't worry about it; you;re just trying to get a handle on whether the vinyl thing is good for YOU.

Note that the LP itself can have a dramatic effect.  Some are just plain bad, and some will rock your world.  Most are in the middle somewhere.  Use a decent cleaning process (once more, lots of threads here on that) and pick some music you like.

FWIW, I feel that vinyl is superior to digital in every way.  I have a superior DAC, disc player and vinyl rig and after doing hours of A-B testing, I'm always happier with the vinyl.  It just sounds more natural to my ears.

That's why this is such a fun hobby:  Finding that happy listening!

Great advice everyone! Thank you.

I did have to remove the load resistor out of the phono board on Ayre K-1xe, as it was 100 ohms and muffled the sound a lot. According to Ayre, the Ortofon red cartridge was best with no loading. I had to open the Ayre up to do all this.

The gain resistor is 10 ohm, so that means loudest setting, but it's OK, I can manage. 

I don't know what re-alignment means, but I will look it up.

The cable I got is RCA on one end and XLR on the other. No adapter used. That's what Ayre's manual recommended.

 With that project turntable feeding your air system, it's like using a red solo cup to drink really good champagne. The table is good for what it is, but your downstream components are going to reveal all its weaknesses. 

 Still, you can do a lot with it with a better cartridge. You might try a Dynavector 10 X5    Also, ask around your audio store if there's anyone in the area who might be free to come over and help you set up your turntable in cartridge so everything is aligned and cracked the right way. Someone who's in the know about vinyl can really teach you a lot about how to get the best sound out of your system.