Is LP distortion the record or the cartridge?

Dear @mglik : You posted :

" The cartridge probably has about 2000 hours on it. "

1K hours is way different. In normal conditions and with that amount of hours seems to me that the culprit of those distortions is not the cartridge.
The cartridge could be only if it’s showing a problem with its suspension or that for whatever reason the stylus tip is in someway " loose " with the cantilever. Both conditions are not present very often in a cartridge as the one you own but could happens and by coincidence started with your new unit because before it you did not experienced that developed distortions.

" On dynamic peaks..... the sound breaks up and produces distortion. "

" Old vocals and piano are frequently bad "

" I really only noticed this distortion after inserting my new.."

After all what I said and posted to you the other alternative is that your new unit is not up to its new condition specs.

Now that I remember could be a third possibility and this is the cable tonearm that some Triplanar owners warned that if it’s not in the precise rigth position will not " track " as should be. 

R.

Check your anti-skate: very important. Are you hearing distortion mainly in one channel? Also you should use a a special abrasive stylus brush periodically to remove built up debris from your needle. Carefully back to front strokes. Actually you math is off a bit. 40 days with 4 hours a day equals 160 hours not 1000.

Yes , the Lyra stylus cleaner is excellent and they supply it with a great brush. It is a bit pricey but IMHO worth it. Many styli are held on only by a gob of glue. Many solvents will attack the glue and then I think you know what happens. The Lyra cleaner will not attack the glue.

mglik has already discovered that his problem is worn records. Old records that distort like that are usually very dirty. So if you are going to play old or used records cleaning them thoroughly is crucial to the life of your stylus. I would play them with a less expensive cartridge that has a replaceable stylus Like a MM Audio Technica. I will not buy used records for this reason. I have seen enough to know you do not want to trust anyone else's record hygiene. 

Now that I remember could be a third possibility and this is the cable tonearm that some Triplanar owners warned that if it’s not in the precise rigth position will not " track " as should be.

This is not the case with the Triplanar FWIW but I have heard of this with some arms.

it can be challenging to set expensive carts. everything have to be spot on.  the more hi end the more demanding on setup. 

i suggest looking at setup video exhibition by Michael fremer. it helped us Alot.!  his article on compliance is on analog planet as well. 

supplementary reading whatever Peter of soundsmith explains. 

they cover everything need to know.