Dustcover Blues


Most of you probably know that I have always championed the use of dustcovers on turntables even during play, the goal being to protect the record from the environment and shield it from sound. For the first time in my audio career I have stumbled into a problem with this and other than not putting the dustcover down I have not come up with a solution. 

Yesterday I was playing Herbie Hancock's Secrets and I cranked it on my favotite song. After about 30 seconds the room started to rumble. My subs were putting out a remarkably clean 20 Hz as if I were playing a test tone. Feedback! Just turn the volume down a little and it disappears. Turn the volume back up and within 30 seconds it starts up again. Did I screw up my cartridge set up? I veiwed the tonearm during the feedback and it was rock solid. Usually with low frequency feedback you can see the tonearm shaking. I played the resonance tracks on an Ortofon test record and both lateral and vertical resonance were centered on 9 Hz With the feedback going and the house shaking I wanted a better look at the cantilever. On lifting the dustcover the feedback stopped!  The dust cover is attached to the plinth which is isolated from the sub chassis (tonearm and platter mounted on this) by four springs. The resonance frequency of this suspension is 2 Hz. Nothing above 2 Hz can pass directly through to the platter and tonearm. What is going on here? Any of you scientists out there have a clue? My best guess is that I am dealing with a type of Helmholtz resonation. The dust cover is lowered on four hard rubber pads, one at each corner. There is a 1/16" slot all the way around. This combined with the weight and dimensions of the dust cover creates a resonance at 20 Hz. To get it going I have to turn the volume way up. 

Today when I get home I'll play around with it to see if I can figure it out. Any ideas would be appreciated. 

128x128mijostyn

Showing 6 responses by vinylzone

You can try moving the turntable to a low bass null point in your room. Otherwise, maybe a frame with silk streched over it to keep the dust out while playing the record.

ETA:  Don't say nothing can pass above 2hz.  Springs will vibrate at harmonics just like loudspeaker cones and musical instruments. Just lower in amplitude.

Well, then, maybe you can seal your dustcover in such a way that it acts like a bell jar, and evacuate any air from it before you spin up the record (don't forget the remote control cuing lever).  No air, no feedback.

How about clear silicon caulking applied to the bottom edge of the dust cover?

 

anti dust cover crowd 

Sorry, but I was totally unaware that there was a "pro dust cover while playing the record" crowd.  I've never met anyone who has done this and I can't recall ever seeing a record playing with a dust cover on.

 

@tvad

I actually started getting into audio in the latter 70’s. Granted, it was a cheap table/system, but the first time I tried playing a record on my Sanyo rack system, I realized feedback was a problem and never played another record with the dustcover down. When I started looking at the higher end stuff in the early 80’s, I never saw, or even had a demo where the dust cover was left down. My first high end table, a Logic DM101 had a dust cover, but I removed it from the hinges, and just placed it on the table while it wasn’t in use.