Hi, K, it might be an azimuth problem. I've had some distortion (not really "static" though) show up with a DV-20XL when the azimuth was off. Resetting azimuth solved the problem.
You shouldn't be hearing anything harsh with that new 20XL. It sounds pretty darn good right out of the box. (I found that there was a subtle improvement with break-in.) If the harshness continues even after carefully checking alignment/antiskate there's either a problem with the cartridge or somewhere in the chain between the cartridge and the phono stage. You could try swapping the previous cartridge back onto the tonearm to see if the problem persists.
Tom
You shouldn't be hearing anything harsh with that new 20XL. It sounds pretty darn good right out of the box. (I found that there was a subtle improvement with break-in.) If the harshness continues even after carefully checking alignment/antiskate there's either a problem with the cartridge or somewhere in the chain between the cartridge and the phono stage. You could try swapping the previous cartridge back onto the tonearm to see if the problem persists.
Tom