Not Enjoying My Turntable

I purchased a u-turn orbit plus six months back to get into the experience of vinyl and collecting again. So far I have enjoyed the process of album buying and the tactile experience of vinyl. However, I just am not happy with the sound. Generally I have always enjoyed playing music with the treble turned up. Maybe because of some hearing loss I don't know. Also, I have had some problems with the turntable. The needle skips and to me the sound is muffled.

I am sure I could fix some of these problems with a equalizer and some troubleshooting with the turntable but am I just chasing the dragon here? In short am I doing something wrong.