70’s rock pressings. Witch equipment deserve?

but I’ve only heard one (a limited edition something or other) with an SME V arm and that will suck the life out of any deck.

Very interesting - that was my exact feeling about this much revered arm. I kept my opinions to myself lest I be outed as a cloth eared cretin. Peerless in some departments, but very boring, as it cannot convey rhythmic information with any conviction.

Pay Gentle Giant, et al the respect they deserve and get the best your budget can endure. Add some atmosphere -an open fire, big old chairs, a few crusty old friends and maybe a little Ganja. Its what prog rock was made for.

Had a really interesting experience way back when a friend brought over a MFSL half speed mastered pressing of Sticky Fingers. 
 
We waited with baited breath for the stylus to hit the vinyl to be finally rewarded by ...,
A very flat, bland and totally uninvolving sound.

Upon reaching for my well played early English pressing (complete with real zipper!) we were rewarded with a ballsy dynamic sound just bursting with life and energy. The difference was not subtle. 

The moral: not all vintage rock vinyl sucks.
And if you can, try before you buy.
Or maybe it was just the zipper?

If I get a cart. w/ shibata, micro ridge, line contact etc and can’t adjust for VTA is there still a difference between them and an eliptical/ conical?. Grace 707 arm.

First of all you have to check do you really need to adjust VTA, then (if you need) you can add cartridge spacer between headshell and cartrisdge, you can also change the mat (different thickness) so i think you can adjust more or less. I’m not familiar with Grace tonearms, you can swap it with excellent and inexpensive Denon DA-401 tonearm with adjustable VTA.

It is true that conical tip is less sensitive to errors in adjustment, but some people overestimate a problem with adjustment when it comes to advanced profiles.

As with any other genre it pays it have the original pressing; rock is no different!
The originals of King Crimson, Yes, Jimi Hendricks, Crosby Stills Nash; too many to mention, but yes, it pays to have good playback. There are some awesome recordings out there!!