Here is a follow-up on my situation:
Last Saturday I took the turntable, preamp, and some of my records to the dealer where I bought it. We hooked the turntable and preamp to one of his amp and speakers. My records didn't sound very good, but it was a little better than my system. (I think my gear is very revealing of everything upstream.) I thought the records I played looked pretty clean, but he said they were scratched from having shifted around in the sleeve. (That includes a sealed record that we opened on the spot.) Then he put on one of his records and it sounded fine! That would seem to vindicate the turntable and preamp.
I took the turntable and preamp home and tried some other records that I had. I tried a couple records for which I couldn't find any noticeable scratches or defects and they sounded miserable. We're back to the right channel sounding really bad, and loud clicks and pops. There are very noticeable high-amplitude ripples on the rubber surround of the speakers' bass drivers. This happens with virtually all LP's I've played but never happens with CD's, no matter what the volume.
So it seems as though I need to make a decision. Option #1 is to sell the Music Hall turntable and the many classical LP's I've accumulated over the past couple of months (anyone out there interested?). Option #2 is to hold onto the turntable and records until I might be able to build a system that will have better "vinyl synergy".
Any suggestions/comments?
Michael
