I'm back into 78s big time, along with R-R tapes (haven't played an SACD in a while). I wouldn't sweat the equalization issue. Here's my "dedicated 78 rpm system": Stanton and Grado 78 carts on a Dual 608 TT into the phono preamp in an old Sansui 7 receiver. Rarely even touch the tone controls. I use my Nitty Gritty to clean them, but often preclean with some Dawn on one of those sponges that has an abrasive side -- no kidding. Tried this first on a trashed 78 that didn't much matter and was astonished at how quiet it became. I don't think you can hurt these things short of using steel wool on them, and maybe not then.
My most successful tweak (read about it on Audio Asylum) was to strap each pair of cartridge pins (one strap on the hot pair and one on the ground pair) with super-thin wire, held on by the cartridge clips. This does away with most surface noise, more so than just using a mono setting on the preamp. Don't know why. I do know that I have a lot of 78s that sound better than the exact same music on CD! It's fun to do this comparison with a room full of CD fans -- they find it really hard to admit to what their ears are telling them.
My most successful tweak (read about it on Audio Asylum) was to strap each pair of cartridge pins (one strap on the hot pair and one on the ground pair) with super-thin wire, held on by the cartridge clips. This does away with most surface noise, more so than just using a mono setting on the preamp. Don't know why. I do know that I have a lot of 78s that sound better than the exact same music on CD! It's fun to do this comparison with a room full of CD fans -- they find it really hard to admit to what their ears are telling them.