Could be any number of things -
At least some of the 6 documented sites of the system are indicating they are simulcast which provides a majority of the frustration. The system being Phase 2 adds to that frustration.
Depending upon where you are and how you programmed the radio, you may want to try monitoring (hold on) the single closest site (or two) that you know cover the area you are in.
It may seem counter intuitive but you might also want to try the opposite - find a site or two that are outside the area you are monitoring from.
Of course in doing either one of these, you may not hear what you were expecting (particularly if you are able to monitor a more distant site).
One other thing you can try for the the "loud" issue is "volume offsets" adjustments but they must be applied (I believe) to each talkgroup (not globally).
And finally - sometimes you can switch the digital decode option from AUTO to MANUAL and see some improvement.
Big jump -- or just buy a Unication pager.... but be prepared for "different" limitations or problems (EDIT: scrap that - Unication still doesn't do Phase 2 -- the biggest possible limitation)