Thanks Eno,

I still got the Denon and have played with the SME. The SME isn't very stubborn about cartridges so far. Needless to say, the Denon sounded very good. The Lyra sounds best to my ears so the Denon is on idle until frenchmon gets another TT.

Update:
I've received the 4" tall dust cover and the VPI Isolators.
I've installed the Isolators and played 3 1/2 LP, then took them right off. The background was much quieter and bass was tighter, BUT it sucked out emotion out of music. I'm sticking with ol' school springs.

JRA