dustcover up, down or off

Any turntable I had always was better with the lid off.The lid resonates easily and transfers the vibration to the platter,or record.Different models had different vibration characteristics,but worse with the lid on,up or down.

You should listen and act accordingly but if you are not sure, I think it is better to leave it down. It can help guard against and reduce rumble/feedback from airborn sound waves eminating from speakers when that occurs. I do not know of a downside in terms of sound quality leaving the cover down on most all tables I've worked with.

FWIW, I keep mine down mostly though I do not hear an audible difference. Sometimes, for convenience, I take it off all together (yeah baby!) because my hinges are just not as taut as they used to be and the cover does not always stay up anymore on its own.

Never heard the difference in all my years.

CDs sound much better anyway.

It seems to me that it will be turntable dependent. I see that you have a SOTA Comet. I have a 1980's SOTA Sapphire (still works like new :)), and with that turntable it is unimaginable to me that vibrations and resonances in the cover will be transmitted through the base and then the suspension to the platter or tonearm. I can literally pound my fist on the unsuspended base of the table while a record is playing, with moderate force, with no audible effect whatsoever.

While I can readily envision the concern that Mapman expressed coming into play if the cover is up -- airborne sound waves having increased effect on the suspended assemblies.

With a lighter table, or one with a different suspension design or no suspension, it wouldn't surprise me if these tradeoffs balanced out in the opposite direction.

Regards,
-- Al