Does a cartridge that has been in storage for an extended period need play time…

Everything sitting around a while needs time to come back. Happens overnight, happens when shipped, for sure happens when stored away for a long time. 

This happens in part because no dielectric (insulator) is perfect. They all absorb some small part of the signal which is then later discharged back into the wire. This is the main reason different dielectrics do sound different. This is also the main reason it can take so long to fully burn in certain components. Over time the dielectric gradually becomes saturated to equilibrium, at which point it becomes stable and the sound improves. Let it sit some time this discharges and we get to go through the same process all over again.

Phono cartridges have this but not to the same extent owing to the extremely thin dielectric. But phono cartridges also have a suspension, typically a little donut of elastomer. Stored at rest the cantilever is at zero load and so the suspension adjusts and conforms to this state. Playing a record VTF causes the cantilever to bend to a new angle. It can take some time for the suspension to fully adapt and equilibrate. This is a main reason we are told to put some hours on before fine tuning VTA. Tracking angle will change with use.

The sound you heard is pretty much what I would expect. Just look at the above factors. Your stored suspension is a little stiff, so not tracking quite as well. If it was stored a very long time the elastomer may be hard and never return to "as new" but that is a bit of a guess, plenty of people using carts for many years still loving them. I would put more hours on it and see.

Thanks for the replies.

I don’t have specific information about previous hours used or storage time - I need to ask better questions. I bought it on a whim second hand from a member here. I spent a good amount of time installing the cartridge and getting it set up correctly. The one piece of data I’m missing is on the recommended overhang.

I just listened to side one of my 2010 Columbia reissue of Kind of Blue and it sounded very good. That was the 5th album side I’ve played since installing it. I know the million dollar question is whether my ears are adjusting or if the sound is actually changing.

Thanks again for the replies.

To help with Cartridge Break In and loosen up to assist with optimizing a Suspension, I have in the past been given an advisory on a method to save the stylus usage during the process.

This requires that the the stylus when mounted on the Tonearm is placed onto a non rotating LP.

I have a Device that produces a vibration and I set it in a Position such that a very mild vibration sensation is transferred and able to be detected through the LP.         I then observe the Stylus to see if the part seems unaffected by the vibration being encountered. As long as the stylus is not showing any obvious movement to the eye, I continue with the level of vibration selected.

This will save the Diamonds User Life whilst gently transferring energy through the suspension, and assisting it to become pliant when in use.

I have done this on Two occasions, of which one was for approx' 4 Days on a New Cartridge and the other being a Half Day on a used but Long Term Stored Cartridge.  I am not aware of any unwanted effect on a Cartridge by using this method. 

Currently I am using two ’long stored’ cartridges, and surprisingly, they both sound great.

Played a few hours for a few days, then started listening critically. I assumed the rubber/whatever the cantilever passed thru would be dried out/hardened/inflexible. Perhaps oxidation of internals.

My MM, AT440ML, very lightly used, stored loose in a baggie in a drawer since Shure V15VxMR came out around 2003/2004. I had to use several spritzes of brake cleaner to get the aluminum cantilever clean. Luckily the tip was not glued on. I figured, it’ll work or it wont. Damn thing sounds great.

Friend’s New, never played MC, Goldring Eroica LX, new in box in the drawer for many years. Luckily it looked clean under microscope, I wouldn’t spritz someone else’s cartridge. Same thing, play a few hours a few days, then start listening for real. It sounds very much like my new MC AT33PTG/II. Perhaps differences, but I don’t want to wear it out. He listens to it here until he gets a SUT.

I will say, same LP’s, the Eroica’s Gyger II Stylus tip tends to hold onto junk more than any stylus tip I ever owned. I need to clean it every play. My other’s, SAS and ML might only get a speck of dust playing a/the same clean LP previously. I think the shape front to back must have surfaces closer to the edge that the ML profile, i.e. something to stick to rather than to fall away from.

Oh yeah, I have rubber restorer I use for rollers on tape recorders. My AT440ML: I put a tiny bit on the intersection of the cantilever into the body with a tiny brush, left a few minutes, then a whiff of compressed air... not to my friends.