Stylus/cantilever stiff and noisy--WARNING!

A lot of rubber parts are sensitive to ozone exposure.  You would have to seal your cartridge in an air tight container to reduce exposure to this pollutant. There are cartridges that seem to be relatively immune to the suspension going bad from sitting around.  Koetsu cartridges, for example, can be quite old and still work perfectly.

It's amazing that phono works so well (or, by comparison, maybe digital is so much inferior from the get go ????) ... anyone have to adjust their VTF because they are above 7,000 ft seal levels? Etc.

Suspension rubber getting hard with age IS an issue, but, I have not experienced nor heard of this problem being manifested by increased needle chatter.  It is usually heard in the signal itself--mis-tracking, buzzing, etc.  

I think most audiophiles --like the Audiogon community that are not really into budget gear, thrift or ebay cheapies, or DIY -- change gear or upgrade components way before stuff like  cantilever  suspension or dried out electro caps are noticeable issues.

That said, some of that late 70's stuff is quite desirable. Much of it was designed in the lab AND voiced by ear ... all very deliberately and with passion, and in the listening rooms of Sony, Pioneer, Marantz, Shure, Empire, Radio Shack, etc. Yeah, when it works like new, it holds its own.

Hollowman, The cartridge is microphonic BECAUSE it is a transducer.  I did not use that particular word, it's true.  So what?

If there is significant ozone in your regular listening environment, you ought to be protecting more than just your cartridge.

Actually, Hollowman, I for one am very much into vintage gear including vintage cartridges, and there is hardly anything in either of my two separate audio systems that I have not either built or modified from OEM (excluding cartridges, of course). You would be surprised at the levels of experience and expertise to be found among those of us who participate here.