Am I the only one who has saved all of their old cartridges and stylus' and head shells, etc.?
I have a couple of show boxes with every little piece of pick-up devices I have ever owned. I do this because every once in a while I come across a new unopened stylus in the dollar bin at a thrift store or whatever. And if I save every cartridge I come across as well, odds are I can salvage that found brand new needle.
I have Empire, Pickering, AT, Shure, Stanton, etc. parts in my boxes of junk. It is amazing for me to me to see that AT11E little AT green box that my first good cart came in which I bought in 1976. I loved that cart, as well as the way the new releases sounded with it in 1976.
Ok, I'm a pack rat I know it. I can't stand to toss out a cart if there is any way it might get used later. You never know when a friend needs some help setting up an old TT that they found, and you happen to have a stylus that just so happens to fit the cart they have installed.
Many reasons to be a happy pack rat.