Peterayer....The bottom line is money. SME has a rear counterweight that actually does just what you say. You add or remove supplied lead (i think) shims to ad or remove the weight to provide the perfect rear counterweight to be as close as possible to the front fulcrum. The VPI weights are finished products of which you request the needed counterweight depending on the weight of your cartridge. I have a very heavy Benz LPS and a 200 gram weight is needed to balanced it properly. The weight that is normally supplied with the arm is 120 grams which would work with many lighter weight cartridges. One should be sure to get the proper weight for his/her particular cartridge, and not be satisfied with a rear counterweight that is too rearward to accommodate the cartridge.