Certain cartridge and phono stage combinations tend to exacerbate the problem- I don’t know the Ortofon, so others will have to weigh in- I have the Allnic 3000 which I’ve been using for about 5 years and have run Lyras and then Airtight cartridges. No clicks and pops (unless the record is damaged- i buy and play mostly older copies). A good cleaning regime can take care of a lot of the snap ,crackle and pop, so long as it isn’t damage to the vinyl. So, perhaps there is something you can improve in your cleaning methods- I have found a rinse step to be essential, others may not.
PS: cartridge set up is also critical. Can’t help you there, no experience with VPI arms. But you might go back through your set up procedure step by step and see if that helps.
PS: cartridge set up is also critical. Can’t help you there, no experience with VPI arms. But you might go back through your set up procedure step by step and see if that helps.