Old records.

Hey, I know sometimes audio can get frustrating. I amgoing to ask you to bring your questionable records to an audio store or a friends house whose system sounds good. This could be a setup issue even if some newer pressings sounds good. It does not matter if the cartridge was pre mounted unless you are using a conical stylus (circular). Do not give up. Some past recordings and even raw materials were not great. For some reason I get this weird error code when I try to look at members systems. It could be that your old vinyl was thin (120g) and your new vinyl is thicker (180g). By lowering the pivot point of your tonearm it creates more bass from the weight (VTF) of your cartridge. Find a second platter mat or put two of your old records you do not care about and put them both on the platter and play the top record. If you feel it improved then it is a VTF (cartridge weight) issue. 

LEWM,

I do not want the OP to give up on vinyl this is why I suggested trying his older vinyl on a second system to see if it’s his system or the vinyl. I have spent hours on the phone with JR from WAM Engineering or Wally Tools. I have tested these theories enough that I can change my VTF/ VTA in one minute even though my tt has an Allen set screw on the tone arm post. I just wanted the OP to test some things out to help him out as efficiently and cheaply as possible. I listen to a lot of different types of vinyl but most of my collection is classical. I don’t mind that people are not into vinyl. I do feel when you hear it done correctly it is on another level. 

Mapman,

I totally agree with the digital recording presses to vinyl. If the recording is bad then the pressing sounds bad. Jimmy Hendrix, LED Zeplin, and even some of the Beatles albums sound poor. It is cool that it is digitally recorded sometimes in 4x DSD. I really do enjoy some of the reproductions because sometimes they do it right or at least better. Since I came very late to the vinyl game I have been very picky about what I buy or keep. My crutch is Pink Floyd. I have different pressings of Pink Floyd albums and they do sound different and even better. I have friends who have over 1000 albums. My problem is they do not or cannot listen to most of them. I am friends with Charles Kirmus. The one thing they always say to him when he is at shows is how can I clean hundreds or thousands of albums. If I’m near that person asking I tell them you don’t. Because you probably don’t listen to all of them. I tell them to clean their top 50 and then their top 100 while mixing in your recent purchases. You might only get to 200 or 300 albums cleaned. It doesn’t matter because everyone has their top 50-100 albums. I have been to my friends houses over and over helping them set up their carts and having a listening session. They always have that top 50 including myself. Every once in a while they picked up a new record. They clean it and we take a listen. If it’s great it gets added to the top 50. Eventually some if the albums get put back on the shelve. We usually only have so much time to listen. My biggest frustration is the price of a good pressing and it does not match the quality of sound or is warped.  Typically it goes back. I’m talking a brand new pressing from top rated companies like AP, OJC, and MOFI. I’m sorry but I am not paying $60 and it has missing areas and bad warps. I have taken a break from buying for a while do to these issues. I do have to say if you get into vinyl make sure your reasoning behind it is met. What I mean if you buy a $300-$500 new record player I can almost guarantee it will not best your digital. If you like handling the physical medium and are ok with the lesser sound then have at it. Sometimes I listen to the HEOS streamer in my Marantz surround system and it sounds really nice even better than that $500 record player. Luckily prices will be pulling back on vinyl so hopefully we all can get a lot more value then we did in the past three years.