I sort of have the same problem. I recently got the 16.5 thinking it would give me dead quiet vinyl. That has not been the case for me either. I have some new records that are pretty darn quiet, with just the occasional pop, but I also have new LPs that seem to have more than you would think a new one would. Maybe it's just the odd gem that you find that is totally quiet. I've bought some used LPs that look to be really good and sound horrible with constant popping. I have found that quickly rinsing the record and then vacuuming prior to listening helps a lot. I too wonder if it's a static thing or just the record and there's not much I can do about it.
All that said, having just gotten into vinyl after many years of owning high end systems I love it. The sound is immensly better than even the best digital systems that I've owned, and I've been learning to not focus to much on the noise and instead take in the vastly superior sound that the LP has.
All that said, having just gotten into vinyl after many years of owning high end systems I love it. The sound is immensly better than even the best digital systems that I've owned, and I've been learning to not focus to much on the noise and instead take in the vastly superior sound that the LP has.