1) Measurements for vinyl playback are grossly insufficient. 2) There is no other way to hear vintage records the way they were supposed to be enjoyed when they were made (tube based electronics will be helpful here too).
1) It's not so much that the measurements are insufficient. Someone with the right equipment can measure pretty much anything. For instance, David Rich's cartridge measurements go beyond what most anyone else is doing. The 'problem' is that his measurements don't always correlate well with subjective perceptions. One of his recent cartridges measured poorly in various areas, but was judged to sound good.
2) If you really want to hear 'vintage' records the way they were 'supposed to be enjoyed' you don't need anything fancy or 'modern'. You certainly don't need a $2000.00 moving coil cartridge. In fact you want just the opposite.
I've mentioned Susuma Sakura before-- something of a legend in the Japanese vintage record playing scene. His preferred set up for mono jazz records was a '60s era Garrard 401, Grace oil damped arm (weighted down with extra coins), and a Denon DL-102 mono cartridge tracking at about 5 grams.
If you want to hear what those 45rpm Glenn Miller EPs were 'meant to sound like', you'll need a Rockola with an Astatic #51 ceramic tracking at 8 grams. And so forth...
Authentic is not always what people want, if given the choice. And since it's a hobby, it comes down to what really makes you happy, and what you can afford.
Analogy: when I was younger I rode motorcycles. When I asked one of my enthusiast friends, he told me to get the Kawasaki 500 triple. If I had asked Sonny Barger, he'd have steered me in a different direction, altogether.
Finally, in this hobby, many folks wind up listening to their gear, and not the music. My advice is to avoid that.
