Vinyl Newbie - So Many Questions!

Let’s forget about the quality or lack there of of new vinyl issues for the moment. You actually have a system there that ought to be capable of very nice better than mediocre phono reproduction. So it is worthwhile to analyze that system first before casting aspersions on the LPs themselves. Are you saying that the RCA’s between your IFI phono and the CJ amplifier are something called “monolith”?The capacitance of those cables does not matter much in this instance. The only thing that is important is the capacitance of the cables between tonearm and the phono inputs on your phono stage. The responder who said you’re ok for total capacitance is wrong because we don’t yet know the capacitance added by the ICs between cartridge and phono stage. I’d bet they add at least another 100pF, so your cartridge is likely seeing >200pF when it’s designed for 100pF. It is going to be a bit difficult to rectify this problem, if it is the reason why you are hearing ticks and pops so often. What happens is that the relatively high inductance of a moving magnet cartridge in combination with the load resistance and with the total capacitance results in a high frequency resonance. With MM cartridges you have to be careful to keep that high frequency resonance well above audibility. When you have too much capacitance, that high frequency resonance will move down in frequency into the audible range. This can result in exaggerated perception of ticks and pops.

 The sound quality ranges from very bad to very good, largely dependent on the record.

I have been there  and done that many yrs ago. I came to understand that I had a weak link in the chain. A system is only as good as its weakest link. in your case, it is the IFI. You system is crying out for their equal  so they don't get blamed. Your TT casts $2k, your Cartridge costs $1k and your phono preamp costs $200 or $0.2. See the imbalance? indeed price is NOT a complete indicator of quality. BUT its a good place to start and it is an indicator. The phono preamp is as important as the TT itself or any other component in the chain. It handles the most fragile of signals. Get a good Phono preamp that costs as least as much as the cartridge.

@lewm  - That’s very interesting. I am definitely hearing exaggerated sibilance in addition to the clicks and pops. I have to point out that a couple of records are virtually noise-free. It seems that when the recorded material is at a quieter passage, the sound is quite good, but when the dynamics increase there is distortion, almost as though the gain is too high on the preamp. For example, if I set the iFi at the next higher gain setting (high output MC), it’s a similar (albeit greatly exaggerated) type of effect. 
 

@noromance  - I’m reluctant to use blutak because my table is sitting directly on an old walnut credenza (my deceased father’s old stereo cabinet), so I’m afraid to damage the finish. But maybe an isolation platform would mitigate that concern. That’s a very good idea.  Decware is a great recommendation!  I’ve read about the spin-clean but didn’t know if it was more trouble than it’s worth. 
 

I just ordered a stylus pressure gauge, so I’ll at least be able to check that. I did use a protractor to set the cartridge and I’m pretty certain that the tonearm height is correct, at least per the mfg recommendations. 
 

It sounds like, one way or another, I’m looking at the need to upgrade my phono preamp. In the meantime, I think I’ll just order an audiophile pressing of a known good recording and see how “good” I can get it to sound. 

First, get the possible bugs out. Then, if you still feel there’s a problem, think about a phono stage upgrade. But I still say you ought to be getting better results with what you have. IF the cause is an excessive capacitance load, the effect might be ameliorated by reducing load resistance. DB Systems make a kit that might help. By placing selected resistors in parallel with the fixed47K load, you can reduce R . I suggest trying 33K, for example, just to see what that does to sibilance, ticks, and pops.

So after reading more about your TT I learned what you have experienced, the motor is isolated from the plinth thru a hole and it sits on the self and that you might move it everytime you turn it on or off ,  I was going to suggest blue tac , I don't think it would hurt the finish but better safe than sorry .

The total capacitance can be tricky , that is why a phono preamps with MM loading selections are being recommended . Mine has values of 0, 50, 100, 150, 220 and 330 and am using 50pf with a Soundsmith cartridge that recommends 100 to 300pf . I remember measuring the capacitance of the phono cable to be 30pf but most don't folks have a capacitance meter .

John Prine !  I have all of his records , many of them first pressing but I'm very impressed with the O'Boy pressing and the new Rhino Start Your Ear of Right releases of his first 3 albums .   Miles Davis " Kind of Blue "  I purchased a new copy and returned it , it was either DOL or WaxTime but the Columbia legacy pressing is fantastic .  Vinyl is a lot of work but rewording in the end .  You are getting a lot of good advice frommembers of this forum .