Well lots of other responses to choose from, without reading them my first
thought was yes, wear, but also the compliance of some carts that old will
have become either too soft or too hard, particularly true I recall with
moving coil units.

However if this has occured over time, it may well have damaged records you
play a lot.

Another think is any lubricants in the arm. These can go sticky over time,
and may need cleaning out and replacing.

As you say, old second hand vinyl is not exactly going to be a test disc
worth relying upon. You need a known good sounding copy of something.

Brian

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Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
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"D.M. Procida" wrote in
message
...
My record player sounds pretty good, on the whole (it's a Linn Basik
with Linn arm and cartridge that I got about 17 or 18 years ago).

However, on some records, it can sound a bit glassy. I don't know if
that's the right word. In louder passages - especially towards the end
of a side, I *think* - sustained notes seem to have a brittle edge to
them.

Because nearly all of my vinyl records are second-hand, it's hard to
know whether the records are worn or the player isn't playing them well.

Are there some basic adjustments I should check, or would I be better
taking it to a hi-fi shop and asking them to check it's set it up
properly?

I'm quite happy taking things apart and making mechanical adjustments,
but I haven't done much messing about with record players.

Daniele