How can I make my Kenwood 5070 TT sound better?

A new cartridge will rock your world. The Empire is quite old, if the stylus is not recent, you could be compromising your entire record collection. Either way, there are many newer cartridges that will smoke the Empire for very little scratch. You did not mention a budget BTW. Don't screw with the arm, you will mess up the value of a nice, classic table and possibly make a mess as well.

Change the power cord for a cryo'ed Flavor 2. Sit back and watch. Also, don't forget to oil the spindle well all the way to the top.

Thanks for the suggestion on the cart. I'd like to stay under $200.00. What would you suggest? I listen to a lot of 50's jazz, and blues throught the present. I'm running it through an old MCS 3275 I bought new in 1978. I know we're talking low-Fi stuff here, so thanks for schooling this beginner.

Hey Lestron, I also have a KD- 5070 TT, although I don't use it any more due to a new TT. I did upgrade the cartridge from an Audio Technica to a Sumiko Blue Point ($200.00), with much better results, using an Acurus P-10 phono pre at the time. As for the tonearm, I agree with Viridian. BTW, does your MCS 3275 accept a moving coil cart ( MC ), if not, you'll have to stay with a moving magnet cart ( MM )

The Blue Point is a very good recommendation. For a warm sound and less money, I would recommend the Shure M97xE, which costs a paltry $65.00. For a brighter sound, the Audio Technica AT440ml is a nice performer at aroung the $100.00 mark. It is not better than the Shure, but you will prefer one or the other depending on how bright you need the cartridge to sound. Somewhere in the middle is the excellent Ortofon OM-20 Super for around $109.00. All will match the arm quite well.