I wanted to ask you about the sibilance in one channel you mentioned. You said both your tables do the same thing so i'm wondering if there is an issue with the model or if because of the age there is similar issues with set up. As you mentioned you may need the stylus to push harder. this is called tracking force and there should be an amount in the carts manual or try google. get a tracking force gauge and measure it properly don't guess most carts are in the 1-3gram range with 2g average.
Also if you do have tracking error from set up, too much or not enough anti-skate could cause issues in just one channel, for example also if the stylus is canted in the grove.
So many issues can come from improperly set up tables-arms-carts so look for a guide on you tube Michael Fremer is a very good man to google for info on a lot of analog stuff. he has a very good set up video.
https://www.analogplanet.com/category/set-tips
Also if you do have tracking error from set up, too much or not enough anti-skate could cause issues in just one channel, for example also if the stylus is canted in the grove.
So many issues can come from improperly set up tables-arms-carts so look for a guide on you tube Michael Fremer is a very good man to google for info on a lot of analog stuff. he has a very good set up video.
https://www.analogplanet.com/category/set-tips