Vinyl Warm Up Time

Yes, it is hard to dismiss the possibility that the benefits are all in one's head, but, it might well be that it takes quite a while for a cartridge suspension to soften from use or physically warming up.  The suspension becoming more compliant from use could not only affect the sound, it could make the cartridge track better and also affect the resonant characteristic of the tonearm/cartridge system and this too can affect tracking and other behavior. 

The difference between your experience and most other listeners is, as you stated, how long you must play records before you seem to reach optimum performance.  I tend to not listen that critically so I don't try to listen for improvement beyond the first ten minutes or so of play where the sound becomes good enough for my ears.

Forgetting so called Electronics Warm Up / Burn In - Optimisation through being exposed to Power On and functioning in the working environment and attaining a ideal working Temperature, forgetting that sort of stuff.

A Cartridge is a Mechanical Device with a few Interfaces between different Parts in the assembly.

The Stylus can only interface and perform at its most optimised when tracing the Modulation in the Groove, when other Interfaces usually found within the Cartridge Body are able to perform at their optimised.

A Damper is a Rubber Compound / Viscoelastic Compound that will change its properties through Heat being generated as a result of Kinetic Energy being received through the Stylus / Cantilever dancing around joined at the Hip.

Think of the early stages of the Dance in the Groove as Amateurs performing, this is due to their needs to improve not yet having found a Teacher.

When the Damper is Optimised as a Temperature, as a result of the Heating through taking on Kinetic Energy, the Tension Wire also responds differently, and will be once more at a Optimised condition for the Role is has to perform.

Think of the Optimised Damper / Tension Wire as the Ultimate Choreographers and Dance Teachers.

The Dance of the Stylus / Cantilever becomes Broadway Quality when the Damper / Tension Wire are Optimised through their functioning at a Optimal Temperature. 

When it comes to Damper Technology, Ortofon are World Leaders with their Subsidiary Companies R&D carried out, along with Manufacturing numerous materials, which are very very stable in the typical environments, certainly not degrading / Cracking / Dissolving when exposed to Ozone. Many of the Products produced under the Ortofon Brand are suitable as a Damper Part.

Where Ortofon Wins is they choose the Parts with a extremely long user life to suit the Voicing they want. I understand the Verismo had it own bespoke compound produced by Ortofon.

A Budget Option is in the Link, but a Stylus as already discussed is needed to bring out a little of the magic hidden within!! 

 https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=48131.0  

The Following is from a Thread created by an individual who commands respect in the World of the Phono Cartridge, those with the highest regard publicly converse with him.

A incorrect Zenith Mounting for a Stylus on a Cantilever might just be a trivial problem where some Cart's are concerned.  

It is easy to Spend Big and get a Bum Deal - Caveat Emptor

" The most honest and most problematic of modern cartridges.
I have always liked and continue to like the sound of ZYX, but since an indefinite time there has been a change in the damper material, which led to a terrible effect. The damper no longer holds its shape under the powerful pressure of the magnetic field, which turns the coils inside out.
Damper deformation leads to a terrible channel imbalance, which reaches 3 - 6 dB.
I repeat that the cartridge has a very good sound while it is young.
I would require that the product's production date and expiration date be marked on the packaging, just like in the grocery department of a store.

Does the ZYX company know about this? I think they know, at least the dealers who get rid of expired products at reduced prices are well aware of this.  "

Warm up is a real thing and one need not resort to fantasy in order to understand it. Neither tubes nor transistors are at their best immediately after being awakened from cold (which is an argument in favor of leaving SS gear powered up at all times unless you’re going on vacation for an extended period). Then too, cartridges have mechanical parts that obviously benefit from exercise and flexing. Speaker diaphragms also loosen up when signal is applied over time. There should be no controversy on this subject. My systems require 30 to 45 minutes before they “sing”.

It sounds like your phono cart has enough time on it so its fully broken in. Just be aware that when it comes to break in, nothing is like a phono cart. The difference is huge. I've had brand new units that I thought were defective because they sounded so bad right out of the box. For the first 20 hours, or so, I can hear a difference from record to record. As for cables, they break in too, and one of the difficult things about vinyl is to break in a tonearm cable, it has to be done manually with records. Its not like a CD that you can leave on for a couple of days. For me, I like Audioquest cables with the DBS system. The DBS system was designed to make break in faster, and stay broken in for longer times. While possible, I don't think this is your problem either. However, if you try a bunch of things that don't work, maybe have a look at the cable.

I would start off with 2 things. The first is to make sure the problem is TT related, and not something else in the system. Does the issue only occur when you play vinyl, or will a CD player or streamer show the same problem, as well? If so, the problem lies elsewhere. If it is isolated to the TT, I would go over all of your alignment angles. You may be right at a threshold, and putting all of your angles back into spec may fix the problem. If everything is in spec, look at the values for each angle and maybe try some small adjustments while still keeping everything within range. 

If you want a really good setup guide, Brooks Berdan did a complete setup process that was published in The Audio Perfectionist Journal. If you do a search, you should have no problem finding it. If not, go to Vandersteens website. You'll find every APJ issue to download for free. Its a really good guide. I thought his comments on VTA/SRA were particularly helpful.

Thank you, Pindac, for a great explanation of what I have believed for years. I always play one album that I don’t plan to listen to as a cartridge warm up. Then I play the albums I have set aside for my session. I have always felt, and would say proven, the cartridge needs to loosen up to sound it’s best. Much like warming up with exercise before a workout to limber up, not that I’m physically active, but I feel the comparison is very much the same.