"You can ask Ortofon or Audio Technica or other cartridge manufacturers
if in the past they had higher quality control with the overall
cartridge building. I own old and today cartridges from the same
manufacturer and I can't confirm your " intuitive sense ".
Several
things already changed over so many years. If the quality been degraded
through the years the LP analog experience just already disappeared and
it's not that way. After the LP the cartridge is the main analog audio
item, it's the one that rides those LP groove modulations: quality is a
must down there."
I completely agree with Raul here.
Let me add too, quality is actually defined in part as repeatability from unit to unit, and if anything the products today seem to be more consistent at least from the big companies. Ortofon and Audio Technica have always been excellent in this regard, so maybe they have just maintained their always excellent consistency, but they may be the exception that proves the rule.
Regards,
Bill