Installing cartr.:slide it all the way to front?

But if the cartridge can't be moved inside the shell, or it's a SPU type of cartridge, how can one get both the pivot-to-spindle distance and overhang right? Sometimes you have to move the whole tonearm, but that would be a violation to the rule that for each arm there is one optimal pivot-to-spindle distance.

Hi Doug, I'm familiar with sound reproduction through vinyl, but was never interested in technical questions like how to install a tonearm correctly, but now I am! Why do tonearm manufacturers specify a pivot-to-spindle distance for each arm they produce? If there is no such rule as: for each arm there is an optimal pivot-to-spindle distance (to minimize the lateral tracking error), then you can place the arm anywhere you like. So, if you have to move the tonearm to get the overhang right, another pivot-to-spindle distance would be the result. This is the compromise with a non lineair tracking arm. One has to choose for: exact alignment of the overhang or not to deviate from the specified pivot-to-spindle distance, if the cartridge is fixed within the head shell or if a SPU is used. Please correct me if I'm wrong.