I personally just don’t like how he does things. I frequently hear distortion in loud parts, muddy bass, and really hard panning that sounds uncomfortable in headphones. Doesn’t matter if it’s CD or vinyl or streaming.
I know people will immediately come for me for my setup, but please, I know this isn’t the case because nothing else I listen to has these kinds of issues. I am a professional musician and I have worked in recording studios. I have sensitive hearing and perfect pitch that runs in my family. I have a nice setup that I love and enjoy thoroughly with other recordings. I have actually invested quite a bit of time and money into trying to figure out if it is my setup or not, and I know it’s not. The flaws are more noticeable in headphones (I’ve tried about a half dozen different ones to confirm), and I wonder if he doesn’t check to make sure his masters work well on headphones before signing off on them.
I know that he is often revered and I almost never hear anything bad about him. And I’ll admit that not everything he does is bad. But in general I actually get kind of frustrated listening to his remasters and the way they sound. And I’m curious if anyone else has heard what I’ve heard.
What do you mean by electrostatic cleaner. Are you wet cleaning them with a proper automatic cleaner or a using an ultrasonic cleaner? Do you clean your stylus properly and how? I use a Nessie Draabe Vinylcleaner pro to clean my records with fantastic results. The only way to make your stylus sound like new is using an ultrasonic cleaner like the flux sonic. Other methods don‘t even come close. Maybe you also have to much downforce on your cartridge. There‘s a sweet spot that‘s not always the same as the manufacturer recommends. You just have to test and find out for yourself. Maybe you should see a doctor and get some earwax removed. You never know :-)