Where is the problem? Tracking error?

Dougdeacon is exactly correct. Regarding the VPI arm... I use a small amount of damping fluid at the pivot. Start this exersize by knowing full well what the sound of your cartridge is with no fluid. As you compare that sound to that of using a single drop of fluid, you will hear a change. With my Benz LP, I heard the sound solidify and open up...after another drop, additional improvements ensued, until with one drop more, the sound suddenly closed down. I took a Q-tip, removed that last drop of oil, and I was in business. ..another point. I also found that by adding VPI's bias compensator, and having it set up that the little articulating arm was horizontal at the beginning of the record, and as the arm traveled across the record, it raised up to almost vertical at the end, I had to decrease slightly the amount of damping fluid at the pivot. I suspect that bias compensation acts like damping, but it also improved tracking slightly. My cartridge is best tracked at a very specific VTF. ...a bit heavier or lighter is detrimental to its sonic potential. I suspect that each cartridge off of the assembly line has its favorite VTF. Sure, they all work from .75 to 1.50 grams, but there is only one perfect force that is optimum...and that changes over time as the suspension changes, so that I find that I have to "tweek" my vinyl system every 6 months or so. I know it's nuts, but the rewards are high.

I was looking at your system, and I certainly would recommend you substituting those Cardas cables. In my system, they produced a congested, tan, muffled sound ...they may be ok in yours, but try Audioquest, Kimber, Anti-Cables and hear if your problem goes away.

Good additional insights by Stringreen.

>> I suspect that bias compensation acts like damping...

Exactly so, as does VTF, and for identical reasons. Both apply a constant force (whether lateral or vertical) which presses the cantilever into the suspension. Pressing a vibrating rod into an elastomer dampens the vibrations. The precise effects will vary by frequency, amplitude and the characteristics of the particular elastomer and rod.

As Stringreen observed, every cartridge's sweet spot for VTF is unique. (The same is true for anti-bias, though the differences are subtler.) The only way to find it is by experimenting. I'd suggested starting with VTF because its effects are the most audible, at least in my setup. I adjust much more frequently than he does, sometimes daily, but for exactly the reasons he described.

Tzh21y,
just try a good MM or MI and see what happens.
I have had all this nonsense with some pretty good MCs and no amount of fiddling with the set-up would cure it completely.
Lately I put in a MP-50 Nagaoka (MI)(~$500) and voila! Problem solved!
Made me think, now why it should be so is yet another inquiry.
(My system is posted, and nothing much out of the ordinary)
Axel

I checked my alignment with the Mint LP. Suprisingly, it was close to perfect if not as perfect as it could be. I did not touch it. It turns out the guy who set up my turntable is the best in my area. It took him over 4 hours to do it. I never knew that. He told me that it is not always what you can see that can cause problems, he said it is what you cannot see inside the cartridge that could cause problems. It does track pretty decent up to those very last grooves and that is where I hear most of the distortion. The Cardas cables are better than the JPS labs that I was using. I do have some Audioquest Opal interconnects I may try just to see what happens. They are old but could tell me something.

He did tell me that I should learn how to do it because he could have a heart attack someday. He told me I shoud get the VPI Classic. He said it is the best sounding table he has had at his shop since he opened it. Has anyone heard the Classic?