Nonsense!!! I'm reading all you guys complaining and complaining saying this cartridge needs 50 hours break-in, that one 100 hours, 200 hours, c'mon the life of a cartridge is at best in the range of 1500 to 2000 hours. But hey, by 20 or 30 years later.... it should be fully broken-in.
Also, many vintage cartridges were made really, really well. I mostly use a B&O SP-12 nude diamond elliptical that is now 35 years old and it is fabulous, has never sounded better -
ancient my
***! My turntable is a late 1960's AR XA, on which I mounted a straight Japanese made Carbon Fiber Arm ( from the 1980's ) with removable headshells ( so probably not all that different from a Mayware Formula IV ). The odd thing is the B&O is probably the heaviest cartridge ever made in the High-End. It weights a proverbial
ton. I had to ADD a round ceramic magnet that I pulled out of some modern over the head headphones to the counterweight on the CF arm, to get the arm to Balance with the B&O in place. Yet it is the sweetest, most detailed, most beautiful sounding combination - the heavy monster of a cartridge, and the almost weightless, thin CF Arm, on the old AR XA and tracking at 1.25 grams.
Then again, I also have a Micro-Acoustics 3002 and a MA 2002e, both look and sound like new almost 30 years later. I have a second SP-12, a conical B&O SP-14, and a Signet 5.0MR that are somewhere between 25 and 35 years new and all three are right as rain.
I also have a Shure V-15 type II, a Shure V-15 type III, and an M-95HE they also look and sounds like new; also an Acutex, a Teledyne, three Ortofons, an ADC, and they are just as good as when new. So I just happen to have fifteen out of fifteen cartridges some 25 to 35 years old that are all perfect.... because
things inside dry up and lose alignment and effectiveness. ???
I may not like the particular sound or sonic perspective of a particular Shure, ADC, or Acutex, when comppared to the B&O, the MA, or the Signet, but that is what makes
horse races. Someone recently sent me a 20+ year old rarely used Sumiko Andante', I haven't had a chance to listen to it, I just mounted it in the 35 year old Thorens I bought, early this year, and I'd bet it will sound impressive, maybe even great - but then you never know 'till you listen.
In the 1970's about $150-$200. for a cartridge was totally high-end, today $200. is just barely out of the cheap-end. Any expensive cartridge that hasn't been
manhandled,
heavily worn,
dropped on spinning records repeatedly, or operated above its
rated maximum Vertical Tracking Force, or at
excessive anti-skating forces will usually last at least several decades without any sonic deterioration. So 35 years later, I'd put my B&O SP-12, MA-3002, MA-2002e, Signet 5.0MR, and even the conical B&O SP-14 up against anything made today costing $2,500. or less... and yousa, you'd be surprised! The secret - is proper alignment and keep the diamond clean.
So a $200. cartridge today, might be a big let down when compared to an old Signet. Just another opinion!
--
Steven L. Bender, Designer of Vintage Audio Equipment
30 years is ancient for a cartridge - things inside dry up and lose alignment and effectiveness. If the Signet is a moving coil, is certainly has a (rubber) damper inside that is likely kaput.
You're asking if you should stick to CD and SACD's or get a new cartridge...on the Vinyl Circle 
You must know our collective answer to that question 
