Brand New Vinyl Static and Pops

@dogberry +1

If one purchases from Amazon (not a plug - a convenience) returning LP's is easy a exchange or two has enabled an improved album, to my perceptions, to be acquired in the past.

I've also suggested before buy a batch, opening and trying one at a time, when one is discovered  that is most satisfactory, return the unwanted and unused.

A Kilavolt No. 103 from Nagaoka.....

...good luck finding one....

Mine still works.....carbon brush may need replacing.....only...*eh* 40ish yrs. old....

Zerostat is not a record cleaner. The trick is to clean an LP before play without charging it up or to disperse the charge after cleaning.Zerostat helps in the latter case.

I would double-check that the stylus connection wires are properly seated and the stylus alignment is correct. The cartridge should have specs indicating what to set the anti-skate to. The blue might require a higher anti-skate setting. If everything checks out correctly and you’re discharging any static electric buildup before playback, I suggest swapping the cartridges to see if the problem goes away. If so, then the cartridge itself could be a bad cartridge.

If your brother just swapped out the cartridges, then I would double check what your turntable's settings are against the specs for the Blue.