I checked the factory set up parameters on 2 of the 3 turntables and they are on target. The only one I set up myself was my pro-ject with hana el. I have close to if not 1000 records, most of which are used/preowned. lots are new as well. As i said, not all exhibit this issue, only some. I spent good money on my cables, so i cannot bring myself to use romex. I did however run a dedicated circuit using 12/2 romex for my hifi. I use all audioquest noise conditioners and outlet. My components are generally on the warm side, the way i like it. I do not like exaggerated highs at all. The only thing offsetting my warm sounding equipment is the silver cables (QED), ive used these for years and like them as they make it easier and more convenient to biwire. The speakers are wharfedale 225 not known to be harsh in the treble, so i doubt very much those are an issue. It again is not every recording, only some. and again most of these records are used and for all i know, despite looking ok, could have been played on a cheap record player at some point. There is only so much one can do to align a cartridge, unless you are Michael Fremer. I use well known available products and a 10x magnifier as well as a lighted 40x loupe. I think people make too much of the alignment process honestly. As soon as you change one thing to attain another, you have altered something else! It is a compromise, hence the two null points. My post began with telling everyone that three turntables and three cartridges were used to test out several known pressings with some sibilance on some portions of each record. So unless every one of my turntables and cartridges are mal-adjusted, I am more apt to think that its the fault of either worn record grooves, bad pressings, and bad QC. Additionaly, a cartridge is not selective in itself. If it is truly that far off alignment wise, then all records would sound like crap! This is not the case, as most of my records sound very nice indeed! It is a select few of the 1000 records that exhibit a sibilant sound signature. Lastly, yes all records are cleaned prior to playing with my trusted discwasher d4 system. The ones that are really dirty are remotely cleaned and stored, I am meticulous when it comes to that. I hear the sibilance to the greatest degree with the hana el, which makes some sense, as it is a very open sounding cartridge imo. I hear it to a lesser degree with the goldring eroica h line contact, giving creedence to those in the camp that say the stylus shape matters etc. (line contact tracking better than elliptical). The ortofon OM10 also to a lesser degree due to the fact that I do not feel it is as revealing a cartridge as the other two. This is not to say in the least that the sibilance is gone with the eroica and the om10, but just a bit less annoying. One of the preamps, aforementioned, being a pro-ject tube box ds with front mounted loading adjustments. The Hana EL is connected to this currently, and is loaded at about 450 ohms. Decreasing the load impedance does nothing to remedy the now and then sibilance, it just makes the cartridge sound thick and dull.