Audio Systems: Turntable distortion, record groove, ion turntable

Question
I recently decided to start playing my lps again so I bought a used Realistic turntable the records that had few scratches sounded quite good but had a tendency to sound distorted at high frequencies but only as the record got towards the end replacing the needle didn't help I saw no type of adjustments on the tonearm for weight or anything so I bought a new Ion turntable with the hopes of eventually transfering my LPs to digital the records sound better but some still sound distorted towards the end of the record but not as bad what could be causing this? I have made sure the records are clean,I even made sure the turntable surface and the platter were level using a bubble level Is this the result of a poor quality cartride at this price level?Or are my records damaged as a result of playing them on poor equipment in the past where they have worn out?  again ther are no types of adjustment for the cartride weight or tonearm height at all on this unit,I checked with their website and in the manual,Music generally has good dynamics but just a little Tizziness when there is vocals again only on the last song of many of my albums.Should I invest in a higher quality turntable from a more high end manufacturer like Rega that is constructed better with a better tonearm and cartridge,do good turntables have superior sound over Cds like many audiophiles claim or should I stick with CDs? I would appreciate your help.

Answer
Unfortunately you are dealing on the very low end of turntable transports. These units are not designed for high end reproduction. My experience with the Ion has produced anything but satisfactory results. Moreover when I tried to get information from tech support the answers had little or no merit or logic.

There are a few basic rules with vinyl reproduction. They are as follows: That the cartridge and stylus are designed to correctly fit a record groove; the head shell is tightly fitted into the tonearm; the tonearm has an adjustment for weight that should precisely match the recommendations from the cartridge/stylus manufacturer; the tonearm has an adjustment for height so that it is exactly parallel to the record while it is playing; the tonearm has an anti skate adjustment to correct the position of the stylus as the grooves become smaller toward the center of the record.

If you are not making a significant investment into vinyl reproduction then I would absolutely recommend sticking to CD's. I personally have a good deal of vinyl. I never play vinyl for the sake of playing it without transferring it to a CD or hard drive. It is time consuming to get it right since the vinyl should be carefully cleaned before playing it. USB turntables simply are not high quality. At least not the ones I've seen, which means that you are better off using all high quality gear in order to convert to the digital domain.