Audio Technica AT-ML150/OCC - Too Old?

I just tried out a current 150mlx. I gave it about five hours and sent it back. I found it a very unsubtle cartridge with shrieky highs, indistinct lows, and a coloured midrange. Maybe great for a shut in, laid back system but not for an already reasonably revealing one. Perhaps I should have given it more time to break in but it just wasn't showing any promise.

Dear Joelv: I own two of its " big brothers " the AT ML/170-180 and owned the 150 and for what I remember I don't had that kind of trouble with the cartridge that btw is a good one.

About the " rubber parts " on cartridge's suspension over the years ( in many old MC and MM cartridges ) I never had troubles about and your is a NOS so I don't think that the trouble is in there but I can't be sure.
++++ " Old stylus maybe? " ++++, I don't think so either because your cartridge is new.

+++++ " The cartridge has about 2 hours of use so far " ++++

well you like Bri an or any one else can't think that 2-5 hours is enough time to make a precise judgement IMHO that cartridge or any other one needs more time.

Other subjects are to be sure about the right cartridge set up: VTA, Azymuth, VTF, overhang, load impedance, load capacitance, etc, etc. and this set up you can't do it till the cartridge suspension settle down ( about 20-30 hours ), your initial set up is only that a set up to start but not to evaluate the quality cartridge performance, so you need to have a little more patience about. Even after those 20-30 hours and with the right sey up you need to know if your tonearm is a good match for it, you can try here with different headshells and different wire headshells and og course with the tonearm damping and always could be a trouble with the quality on the phono stage, specially when we grow up/improve with a better cartridge.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Yeah, well NOS is in quotes above because neither the seller nor myself are the original owners. I just wondered if it had been used.

I will patiently play some records and see what happens after 20-30 hours.

can't speak to the condition of the nos cartridge, but i have several cartridges, including benchmark designs by lyra and london-decca. the AT 150x plays with those and more.