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

It works well for me, the compliance of the 103 is not that low. The tests of it in the 70s and 80s recommended a 6-16 gram mass arm. I have seen the classic Japanese detachable head shell arms of 20 grams + recommended on the grounds that the arm will flex more with them. I cannot see how that is a good thing, arm rigidity is more important with MC than MM. I owned many of the old arms when they were new, FR 64, several ATs, Luster 801, Micro Seiki 505 etc. and would rather have the VPI arm. I see questions about the VPI being a unipivot but there are several other top arms that are unipivot which are used with moving coil extensively. I also have an Aries with 12.7 that I use with a Denon 304. That sounds better than the Scout or Scoutmaster with the 9" arm and 103 but it dammed well ought to considering price differential. As a VPI dealer I picked out the 103 because I think it is good enough to give an excellent sound with the tables but not at a high cost. I am not a Denon dealer. The Dynavectors will give an improvement at a much higher cost. I am a Dynavector dealer but in this economy I am trying to put together a vinyl system that can be had at the most reasonable price and allow for cartridge upgrades later if desired. I recommend Bob's Devices step up transformers for MCs, major bargain. I have no connection with them except using one.

I'm running a Uwe-podded DL-103 on a 10.5i arm with no problems, and believe me the Uwe pod is more massive than the original DL-103. I'm not using the Classic TT, however.

After reading many of the posts and rave reviews for the DL-103 family last year I decided to mount a DL-103R on my original VPI Aries TT w/ JMW 10 arm. Compliance?... I don't need no stinkin' compliance! It sounded very good, but I eventually discovered that it tracked best at over 2.5g.

After 6 months I realized that as good as I thought the Denon cart was, I was missing much of the weight and rhythm I was used to hearing. I reinstalled my old Grado The Reference at 1.4g and it was better. Certainly not as open and detailed as the Denon but just a better for for the arm, IMHO.

I'm not saying that the Grado is the best cartridge for this arm (it is not); just that to my ears it was a better fit for my JMW arm than the 103R. I am going to be ordering a pair of Soundsmith cartridges from Peter soon and we'll see how that goes.

Nolitan,
Again, I don't have first-hand experience with certain cartridges, such as Denon's or Shelter's, which i ASSUME would be problematic based on specs alone. I think the experience of Br3098 supports my concern about the Denon. I have stuck to cartridges that have been well known good matches to the VPI arm. I have run Dynavector, Grado, Audio Technica, Lyra, and Benz Micro cartridges all with great success. The Benz L2 Wood body that I use now is definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Cheers

It seems the cat is out of the bag... VPI tonearms will now have a stainless steel arm wand. My 10.5i seems to be aluminum. I wonder what the sonic difference is.