Brand New Vinyl Static and Pops

Try a cartridge with a microline or Shibata stylus. Superior tracking IMHO.

I have never seen a cartridge that came with a written spec for anti-skate. And I doubt AS has anything to do with the JJ problem of ticks and pops. Of course if he’s applying way too much AS, that’s a problem per se.

It sounds like this is a combination of two things- a cartridge problem and perhaps also setup.

The cartridge could have been dropped and the magnet knocked out of alignment. This can cause all kinds of weird stuff while the cartridge looks fine. Since the muffled quality is in both channels this is a possibility.

I'm not sure how setup would cause the cartridge to sound muffled, but certainly it can cause mistracking, which manifests as ticks and pops in loud passages as the cartridge loses contact.

Am I missing something? It looks like the OP is not actually cleaning records, and is not subsequently cleaning a very dirty stylus. 

Check out the current zerostat discussion. It is like a gun. One depresses then releases a trigger slowly and it dispells static charge. Basically lasts forever. I think it’s good to keep the humidity in your house above 40%.

Since the problem started when you changed the cartridge, I doubt that it’s about a static charge since that has not changed. I think it’s more likely caused by the way the new cartridge was installed. Less likely but still possible is that there’s something wrong with the new cartridge. Another possibility is that you’re listening more carefully to the music since you added a new cartridge. Pops and clicks that were always there now bother you. Also, some cartridges reveal pops and clicks more readily than others. I would definitely reinstall the ortofon red and see what’s what. Good luck!