VPI Classic---Denon 103 won't fit on arm??

UPDATE: I talked to Mike at VPI---he told me that he himself hasn't tried mounting a Denon 103 on a VPI Classic, and he doesn't know of anyone having any problems attempting to do so, but if it does indeed pose a problem for this particular cartridge, VPI can simply mount the tonearm about 1/8" farther back to accomodate the Denon wanting to sit farther back on the headshell. He said this altered tonearm placement wouldn't affect any other cartridge that one would want to mount later.

So I went ahead and placed my order with Music Direct, and they're special ordering for me a VPI Classic with the modified tonearm placement to accomodate my Denon 103R.

So I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to buy the Classic and mount a Denon 103 or 103R on it to do the same to avoid any problems. Mike at VPI said there was no extra charge to do this.

One other thing---Mike also told me to have Music Direct specify that the armtube be stainless steel instead of aluminum, but Music Direct's website and every other online site that sells this table already lists as one of it's features "JMW-10.5i Classic Tonearm with Stainless-Steel Armtube", so I'm not sure why he told me that.

UPDATE: I've changed my order with Music Direct, I'm no longer doing the special order thing, partially because it could take up to 6 weeks and I'm too impatient, but primarily because my research indicates that the Denon 103R indeed may not be the best match for the JMW 10.5i arm because of compliance etc. So I'm getting a regular in-stock Classic from their warehouse, and I'm trading in my dead Dynavector 17D3 (the suspension died after only 1 year!) for *another* brand new 17D3 that they will mount for me, and hoping *that* one doesn't meet a similar fate. It's such a great cartridge I'm willing to roll the dice.

Now I need to figure out what tonearm cables to buy for this baby. Think I'll start a new thread...

Tom, thanks for the recommendations---I do own a decent digital stylus force gauge, and as for cartridge alignment aids, I have a Geo-disk and the Hi-Fi News LP paper protractor, but I'll look into the mint lp protractor if that is superior to either of those.

I did give some thought to getting a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge (seems to be a popular cart for the Classic and VPI tables in general), but after reading all the comments I could find about it in audiogon and audio asylum etc., I came away with the impression that's it's a somewhat polarizing and "controversial" cartridge, i.e. there seems to be a more positive general consensus among audiophiles concerning the Dynavector carts. Plus I already had the 17D3 on my Rega P25 so I'm familiar with it and really enjoyed it.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting this VPI Classic, there seems to be quite the positive buzz being generated out there by people who've bought it. Sounds like an extraordinary turntable---we shall see...