With the phenomenon you describe, worn used records seem to be the biggest culprit for me--some of my favorites among them. My assumption has been that years of mistracking in somebody else's hands wore the distortion into the groove. If I'm wrong about that, I'd love to know more...
Really, I just want to give a _tiny_ shout out to the Radio Shack pre: if it's the silver box powered by a 9v, Ultra High Fidelity magazine picked it as a budget favorite a few years back. It's discontinued now, but it's what I picked up when I decided to dip a toe into vinyl, and it did little wrong--especially at $20. I'd look elsewhere before blaming it.
Really, I just want to give a _tiny_ shout out to the Radio Shack pre: if it's the silver box powered by a 9v, Ultra High Fidelity magazine picked it as a budget favorite a few years back. It's discontinued now, but it's what I picked up when I decided to dip a toe into vinyl, and it did little wrong--especially at $20. I'd look elsewhere before blaming it.