Thanks everyone. Actually I do have a rubbery mat, it's a Herbie's mat so maybe I should turn it off everytime. I was also concerned if turning the motor on and off every album side would be taxing it.
As for the distortion it doesn't happen on all of my records but it does happen on a good percentage of them, say 1 out of every 4. I should have mentioned that the phono preamp is also new, Creek OBH18, and doesn't exactly have a great reputation for warm upper frequency range. If the problem doesn't subside after I have some more hours on it or with cleaning I may have to focus more on the cartridge setup, although the reason I bought this table (Goldring GR1) is that it's supposed to be pretty plug-n-play. The only thing i can easily adjust is the VTF.
I'll also have to do more research about Slate1's suggestion about overloading/heardroom issues. I kind of chose the Creek 'blind'.
Thanks everyone. Keep the suggestions coming.
As for the distortion it doesn't happen on all of my records but it does happen on a good percentage of them, say 1 out of every 4. I should have mentioned that the phono preamp is also new, Creek OBH18, and doesn't exactly have a great reputation for warm upper frequency range. If the problem doesn't subside after I have some more hours on it or with cleaning I may have to focus more on the cartridge setup, although the reason I bought this table (Goldring GR1) is that it's supposed to be pretty plug-n-play. The only thing i can easily adjust is the VTF.
I'll also have to do more research about Slate1's suggestion about overloading/heardroom issues. I kind of chose the Creek 'blind'.
Thanks everyone. Keep the suggestions coming.