@dwette I was going to ask for a pic of your TT but you attached one and i can see there's no way for you to fabricate a cover so that's that. Seems like a bit of PITA to have to feather dust and mocrofiber everything but since playing LPs is tactile anyway then i guess that's just another part of the process...in our environment here in Arizona we have so much dust it would take much more than that to clean the table if i didn't have a cover so i'm glad i do--and it's a simple matter to just take it off and set it to the side when i play LPs...
Some thoughts on dust covers
Over the course of time there have been many discussions concerning the subject of dust covers. They tend to revolve around the central question: Should the dust cover be down or up while playing records? Some of these discussions have been nasty, consequently I have refrained from participation. It is hoped that I can provide some common sense that was given to me by someone of unquestioned authority many years ago. During college and after, from 1970 to ~1980 I worked in HiFi retail, selling high end lines of audio equipment. One of these lines was Thorens. Sometime around 1977 or 1978, if memory serves, Thorens introduced their new TD126, as a top of the line TT with their own arm and I sold the first one at our store to very good customer. He came back very unhappy after the first night of frustration with it. The problem was that with the dust cover closed some of his favorite records were hitting tangentally on the very back were the platter came closest to the dust cover when it was in the closed position. I called the manufacturer's rep and he set up a three cornered phone call with himself, the Chief Engineer of Thorens at the time, and me. I don't recall the man's name, but it doesn't matter, it is what he said that matters, then and now. The Chief Engineer explained that the problem was caused because the hole in the offending records was slightly off center so there was an eccentricity as such a record rotates about the spindle. The solution was simplicity itself, the dust cover should be removed always when playing records. That the intent of the cover is to protect the turntable when not in use. I pointed out that we lived in a semi-arrid environment (San Diego, CA) which is dusty to which he replied that if the environment was too dusty for records it should also be considered unhealthy for people to be breathing the air. He recommended are filtration, not dust covers to address environmental concerns. The rep asked about air bourne feedback from speakers and the Thorens guy laughed and said that if that was a problem in a given system, relying of the dust cover was a very flimsy and ineffective solution and that proper measures should be instituted to provide meaningful distance and isolation to ameliorate the problem. So the often offered extremes: a) Always play your records with the dust cover down, or b) put the dust cover away in it's box and never use it, should both be recognized for what they are are - not solutions at all. First principles: Identify the problem(s), seek solutions and alternatives, prioritize.
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@dwette BTW how did you attach the pic of your TT--i tried to do that in another thread and it was just stripped by AG |
Using a feather duster on occasion isn't a PITA at all. It literally takes less than a minute every once in a while. Managing a big acrylic dustcover most certainly is a PITA. I previously had a Clearaudio Ovation with a single 9" arm, and had an acrylic cover made for it. It ended up a stupid waste of money because I got too lazy about using it and had no good spot to store it while playing records. Good riddance to the whole unnecessary dustcover nonsense. That's where I am on it. I really have no issues having none at all. |
Wyoboy, I feel compelled to correct incorrect information that falls within my range of knowledge. Ideally, the information on this site should be as accurate as possible, because some of these posts are read and believed by newcomers to the hobby. For example, that is why I posted to correct RichardBrand’s statement that the stylus rubbing on vinyl causes static charge. You can call me a pedant or some other pejorative term because of my compulsion to be an intellectual policeman. Maybe I deserve it. I don’t claim to be infallible, and I always welcome correction; I have certainly been wrong many times; I only know that because others have seen fit to correct me. But that way, I learn too. The question for me is why do you care whether or not I post here? dwette. I too use lucite (acrylic) dust covers that just cover the platter surface, like yours, on my Technics SP10 Mk3 and on my Denon DP80. My Kenwood L07D was sold new with exactly that type of cover, and I use the original Kenwood version on my own L07D. I need two more, one for my Victor TT101 and one for my Lenco. They are in my basement system. For some reason, the finished room area in my basement is amazingly dust free, maybe because the few windows down there are sealed shut. |
I must confess that I was educated in physics at Cambridge and I have tried to keep up since! Physicists now explain almost every known property of the universe in terms of four fundamental forces which act on the very smallest particles, including the electron. Protons and neutrons comprise three smaller quarks! These are the objects for the comparison of the four forces. Gravity and electromagnetism both operate over long distances up to infinity and follow the inverse square law. The word electromagnetism is used because a moving charge creates a magnetic field. The other two forces only operate over tiny distances about the size of an atomic nucleus. In everyday life, we experience gravity as a dominant force, but that is because every atom in the earth tugs at us. These same atoms have no net electrical charge, so the way-stronger electromagnetic force balances out as equal attraction and repulsion. But rub a few electrons on to an insulating surface and they will lift paper and cartridges against all the gravity of the earth. They will also attract and hold dust. This is the principle used in electrostatic air filters, which my electrostatic speakers would try to emulate except for the built-in dust covers (back on topic?).
You did not do a very convincing job because your own measurements indicated the opposite. The "white paper" you mentioned inferred the contribution was negligible (not zero!) compared to 30,000-Volts produced using cat fur! Mind you, that seminar was spruiking the benefits of the static-reducing in-built brush Shure introduced with the type IV cartridge. I contend that any static will encourage dust collection and that is bad for record playback. I am not silly enough to think your measurements were accurate, since you only stated results and not the procedure used to get them. Hence I wrote prima facie or on the face of it! The most reliable way of reducing static is to immerse your record in a conductive medium, like water, but then you have to dry it without re-introducing static. More contentiously, I believe the best way to reduce the dust load on your records is to use a hinged dustcover, but only if you have one. Operationally it is not too hard - bit like lifting the lid on a toilet. Unlike a hinged dustcover, leave the lid up when in use ... |
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