surface noise reduction

Very old LPs that you’ve likely purchased second or third hand were almost certainly played many times with cartridges using spherical or elliptical or worn out styli of either type. When you then play those LPs with a modern cartridge using an exotic stylus shape of any kind, it’s likely that new stylus rides differently in the grooves, reading a more virginal path. This is the most likely reason for the perception that one cartridge is inherently quieter than another in terms of surface noise. That, plus elements of setup such as VTA. Beyond that, it’s phono stage design and cartridge loading.

+1

In addition, the OP might read again the earlier post by Atma on the importance of loading and phono stage design. The net message was not that you need a new cartridge.

I don’t know about styli being major determinants of the level of ticks and pops, but if Mijo is correct, the SoundSmith OCL can be added to a wide variety of good but inexpensive cartridges for the price of a retip. Using a low output cartridge per se ought not to be a panacea, because you need to add a commensurate amount of phono stage gain to hear the music, and that would likewise make LP noise as audible as with a higher output cartridge.

Phono stage can have a lot to do with the audibility of ticks and pops.  Search these archives for comments by Atmasphere.  The other factor would be cartridge loading.  Have you tried fiddling with that?