Cool thread, like hearing about all the fun tweaking in and such. Miss those days.
Just thought I might chime in to mention a possible oversight: If you are hearing differences between "old" records and new ones, very likely it's the VTA setup. That is to say, often newer or different pressings like a different VTA. Not so much the thickness of the record, but rather the way the record is pressed.
Back when I had my Clavis DC and Lydian, I found there were certain groups of records that simply called for a different VTA to sound optimal. Also, they were VERY sensitive to the rest of the setup, as in the overhang and such.
They always sounded great, but I found getting them set up really, really well got things into another level- maybe a level nothing else could match.
Just thought I might chime in to mention a possible oversight: If you are hearing differences between "old" records and new ones, very likely it's the VTA setup. That is to say, often newer or different pressings like a different VTA. Not so much the thickness of the record, but rather the way the record is pressed.
Back when I had my Clavis DC and Lydian, I found there were certain groups of records that simply called for a different VTA to sound optimal. Also, they were VERY sensitive to the rest of the setup, as in the overhang and such.
They always sounded great, but I found getting them set up really, really well got things into another level- maybe a level nothing else could match.