Cartridge sitting idle for 6 year?


Without boring you with details of why my system has been idle for so long I'm rejoining the audiophile world and setting up my system with includes a well-tempered classic turntable and a transfiguration spirit cartridge. I had a local dealer look at the table and cart and he adjusted it and said the cart looks good. He did say that the cartridge can kind of "dry out" and the highs may be a bit rolled off.

Can anyone share their experiences with idle cartridges? It's had modest use for a couple of years prior to it sitting idle.

The reason I'm asking is that I have no real reference point in listening to my system. I do know that everything sounds very nice and I suddenly have that old bug back of upgrading and because my dealer said the highs may be rolled off a bit I just can't seem to get that out of my head. You know, we all want the best out of our system. My goal is to upgrade all my cables first, then possibly the cartridge.

Thanks
grandpoobah
The rubber in the cantilever suspension system can dry-up. But, this typically takes more than six years. How long had you owned it before it went idle? If it sounds good, you should be fine. You'll be able to hear when it's going bad -- it'll be pretty lifeless.
I have had some sit around for much longer than this and still work fine. Pay no attention to the dealer unless you have a lot of confidence in him. I once went to hear a system with a man who was seeking to sell the system's owner some new gear; he listened a while with a pained expression on his face and then announced "you have a peak at 3 thousand cycles". When we left I said to him " Basil, you don't know what 3 khz sounds like". He replied " You know that and I know that but they don't know that". Go by your own ears, not by what someone else says.
Eleet and Stanwal thanks for your thoughts. To answer your questions I purchased the cartridge in 2004 so I used it a couple of years before it sat idle for 6 years. And I do trust my dealer, he's very well known and knowledgeable and his remark seemed informaitonal but I'm sure he wouldn't mind selling me new shiny cartridge.
Grandpoobah, no one can predict for sure how long a cartridge will last. It will be a function of the specific material used, the environmental climate, and so on. However, if your suspension system was going bad after eight years it would be the exception rather than the norm. In my experience (35 years of playing LPs and 6 years at an audio store) the breakdown process is not that insidious nor the effects that subtle. You’ll not only lose some range at the top but your transient response will decrease as well leaving you with a flat dull sound. Musicians will sound like they’re playing with bad hangovers. Hey, can I borrow your hat sometime?
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