New Vinyl Defects

I'd return the defective new, 180 gram Lps. They ought to be pristene if advertised as new. No question. If the seller refuses, stay away from them and leave - feedback so we steer away.
Thanks.

I agree with the comments of the others here. A record being new and pressed on 180 gram vinyl doesn't mean that the rest of the production process has been performed to strict quality standards. It is also important to clean records before they are played the first time, and to keep them clean.

It is important to perform an initial thorough cleaning to remove the mold release that is on new records. The mold release can cause a 'veiled' or 'scratchy' sound, and will attract dust,etc. to the record. It will also foster microbial growth on the record. A good enzymatic cleaner is the most effective for removing mold release. By the way, the Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions products will be back on the market in a few days and they offer an enzymatic formula and a product line the was picked as the Stereo Times Analog Product of The Year in 2005. Their products are the most effective that I've found in over 30 years of cleaning records.

Good luck with your analog rig.

I had big problems with WHatmusic Brazilian reissues.Out of 30 records i bought at least 20 had some kind of imperfection.Usually it's the bubbles and off center pressings.

Setup definitely lessens surface noise issues with vinyl, but other than an out of production Nakamichi I've never heard of a turntable or setup procedure that corrects for off center pressings.

thanks again for all the input, it sounds like my experience isn't that unusual, and I realize a sample of 4 isn't a statistically valid sample to project 50% defects from.

I plan to return the 2 defectives, and will post how it goes back here. By the way, the 2 in question are 1) Johnny Cash "American V: A Hundred Highways" 180gm on Lost Highway Records; and 2) Lambchop "Damaged" on Merge Records. The Lambchop record is bizarre - on side one the grooves are cut off-center by about 1/4". How can that happen, I wonder?? Both are excellent. I cleaned both before playing them. I cleaned the Johnny Cash album a second time and listened to it again this morning on my second system. Same results on track one, so I think we can rule out equipment as the source.

Albert - your point on phono stage is interesting, and I didn't realize that the phono stage could introduce this kind of noise. I'm using a Lehman Black Cube SE into a Musical Fidelity NuVista preamp on one system (Cartridge at present is a Benz Glider LO. On the other system I'm using the internal phono stage of my TAD 150 signature. The table is a Pink Triangle Original, Audioquest PT6 arm, and a Grado Sonota cartridge. Should I be concerned here? I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate.

Finally, the emphasis on setup is well taken, and while I assumed I got it right, but I suspect if I'm honest I probably haven't taken as much care as I should. I'll probably give it anither go on both tables.