Old records.

...beats a leased life...;)

I haven't dragged out an Lp in forever....got 3 still encased in shrink, so I guess it's time to doso.....

@rvpiano Source Material is the only product in the chain that little can be done with, and I feel confident that within your collection there will be plenty of the Pressings that those who concern themselves about pressings will recommend.

My suspicion is that very shortly you will start to see advisories to move onto a SS Phonostage, as these will in most cases of my experiencing the designs in use be presenting in a manner that can be perceived as having a sharper edge.   

My suggestions to follow are what I consider not too expensive options to create a sonic that has become closer to the attraction your are looking for. 

Cleaning Pressings with the correct solution is for myself today everything, after being familiarised with a change of cleaning method, for the past 18months, I refer to the now used process as a Purification of Vinyl, nothing used before has created the impression of the Source Material being so decontaminated.

There was no need to make any changes to the Down Stream Ancillaries to become so impressed with the Vinyl being used, but as stated before, I am now able to fully experience the benefits of using Wire Types such as PC Triple C and D.U.C.C, along with my selection for Valve Types.

As for your CJ PV 11, I would not be too quick to suspect it of being a weak link, even though there will probably be contention on such a device being used presented by other members. As you have already invested in having the PV 11 undergo modifications, and have made earlier inquiries about the PV 11 the following might be of interest to you. 

The PV 1, has an interface within, that can easily be worked with, being the 2 x 12AU7 Tubes.

Tube Rolling has for myself proven to be extremely successful, I feel extremely confident this method id adopted by yourself, will produce something that is very much aligned to your tastes.

As a Tube Rolling follow up, trying out Interconnects terminated with Low Eddy RCA's, connected into Chassis Mounted Low Eddy RCA's can prove to be the most cost effective way forward, any rewards found from Tube Rolling will be accentuated for the better, if the ideal Interconnect is also discovered along with the use of the RCA Connectors, there is a whole lot of betterment that is being achieved.   

There is Plenty to read in the link, that might discourage the idea of exchanging Pre' and further enhance what is already owned.  

https://www.conradjohnsonowners.com/viewtopic.php?t=1852

@rvpiano 

probably a combination of things.  I prefer digital but I acknowledge it’s possible to get excellent results with a good vinyl setup.  
  Not all lps from back in the day sound great.  A whole slew of them sounded much better in their digital incarnation.  I know that you listen to a lot of classical .  Goddard Lieberson, who headed Columbia classical during the early lp era, wanted his recordings mixed as though the average listener would be listening on AM car radio.  Most of the RCAs from  seventies had muffled sound and horrible vinyl quality.  Play any CD of an Ormandy recording from that era and then compare the lp.  I could go on but the point is it depends on what lps you are referencing.  In your OP you say that old lps should not sound worse than newer ones, but in many cases precisely the opposite is true.

  Worn out stylus?  The issues there would be tracking difficulty.  However you may want to check the settings on the phono preamp.

  And I believe you are in your mid eighties?  How preserved is your hearing?

Wow! I remember finding orchestral RBCDs from the 80s (which would include Ormandy recordings derived from earlier performances) to be just awful. So bad I couldn’t bear them even at a friend’s house during a party. Massed strings, to which ormandy was no stranger, sounded like crumpling of cellophane. This was on an otherwise high end system using his brand new Meridian CDP.

I live with old, I mean OLD records. A couple things, first, upgrade your stylus to a Line Contact, or SAS, or other nude elliptical (for stereo, and a good mono cart...). Those styli designed for 4 channel (like the SAS) are an excellent choice for 70's and 80's records. The deeper into the groove the better (virgin territory...). Second hand records have an unknowable history, quite often the "top" of the groove has been worn by old, or inappropriate cartridge/stylus choices, or dirt. I also recommend Moving Magnet or Moving Iron for used records until their condition is known. As for cleaning old and used records I use Tergikleen mixed per manufacturer's directions in a Spin-Clean. I rinse with a spray bottle of distilled water, and then dry on a Record Doctor (vacuum) then air dry in a rack for a bit. Tergikleen can be formulated for Ultra Sonic as well, but it must be rinsed with distilled water no matter the method (get some label protectors on Amazon). The PVC (it's PVC that keeps vinyl records out of curbside recycling, nasty when melted) in the record is a recipe of different suppliers and products. Pressing plants often recycle rejects back into the mix. It is impossible to know, unless you mixed the batch yourself, just what is in your record. Some of the component parts of the vinyl mix can react badly to alcohol. It is not worth the risk of exposing your vinyl to any amount of alcohol. I have a ruined Mahavishnu Birds Of Fire LP on which I naively used a home brew recipe cleaning solution that had alcohol as an ingredient. None of the other records cleaned with that recipe show the same damage. The damage is visible through a magnifying glass, looks like ripples in a sandbar (the solvent action of the alcohol removed something and left the record "dried out"), and the damage was probably cumulative. And finally, if you can't think of your vinyl, polystyrene, or lacquer collection as Artifacts, you are bound to be disappointed. Yes, there are some excellent sounding pressings out there, and a perfect marriage of record, stylus and electronics can sound spectacular. But digital perfection is not what record collecting is about, for me, anyway. Maybe you can price your collection (3,000 is not an insignificant collection!  I'm sure there are some gems in there) on DISCOGS and find your nirvana..  Good luck