What cartridge have you been using with it thus far? I cannot remember if it came with one when you bought it or you had fitted one of your own to it.
It came with the JVC MC-200E, the original cartridge model that shipped with the turntable when it was new. I think it is quite a noisy cartridge, and I hear what I think is an excessive amount of pops and clicks despite repeated and thorough cleanings of the records. Maybe that's the records, but I am suspicious that it isn't. Once I hear the same records on a different cart, I imagine I'll be able to draw some better conclusions then.
