mike11 wrote:I replaced the needle n cart.... Sounds a lot better but top speakers still sojnd like shit lol .... Could be blown due to their age or I'm just not used to the sound from a vinyl box I'm usually working on cd stuff that's always clear as a bell......
Those two sentences tell me that this may indeed be matter of perception.
Most 45's do not sound as good as say an LP. Back when they were a popular distribution media the stampers were often worn out and the record material was often poor quality (styrene, reground plastic). If you are used to high quality reproduction via CD or reel-to-reel tape, mechanical reproduction, which is what records are, will always seem a bit flawed.
Some things to check;
Switch from stereo to mono. If you hear real improvement it means records are not in great condition. Common for jukes and 45s and why i always run them mono on location. If the records have come from jukebox service just assume they have been damaged by poorly maintained equipment and heavy use. Try a clean and "new" record.
Is stylus an original Shure? Copies are variable in quality. Some are excellent others sound worn from the start. Some that are made from 'splints" really tear up records for the first dozen or so plays.
How heavy is the arm tracking. You should not be seeing the stylus cantilever buckling to the point where the plastic guard occasionally hit the record. Unfortunately, these later tonearm often had poor tracking and were prone stylus wobble and groove hopping. i've seen -many- with coins taped on the top of the tonearm. Often the counterweight is just 'all the way up".
Have you tried what Alan Hood suggested and used an AUX source through the amp?
Rob/NYC