you

discardedrecord

By: Michael Fremer

December 28th, 2025

Category:

Miscellaneous

Do You Really Need That Dust Cover?

Paul Seydor's alternative solution works well!

Decades have passed since I've owned a turntable equipped with a dust cover. It seems the more expensive the turntable the less likely it is to come with one. I don't miss having it. Instead, I use an old record that's been cleaned. Of course it fits perfectly over the platter preventing dust from settling on it. The rest of the turntable is easily wiped clean with a microfiber cloth.

Anyone who's visited here knows I do not have a cleaning person (though I could obviously use one), so I don't worry about an overly zealous duster destroying a cantilever, but if that's a concern for you, it's easy enough to use the stylus guard when you're expecting the cleaning person.

Paul Seydor recently sent me an old record fitted with a wooden dresser knob that makes it even easier to remove and replace the place holder record. He also applied a small cork "mezzaluna" to the contact side, which keeps it from making full platter contact. I guess that's to allow air to circulate? Poor Paul is away on a European river cruise vacation with his family so I can't ask its purpose right now.

This is an easy to create fix for a no dustcover turntable. And it's highly recommended!

Paul Seydor sent a few more pleasing images of how this can look:

This one uses a record weight instead of a knob

Record weight as handle on platter cover on Cadence Garrard 301 Advanced newly remanufactured by SME

Drawer pull as handle on vintage Garrard 301as restored by Audio Grail of England with custom-made base

Specifications

12" expendable record

wooden dresser draw knob

cork mezzaluna

glue

Manufacturer Information

You

Comments

2025-12-28 05:50:59 PM

Josquin des Prez wrote:

This is more or less what I use. Clearaudio has what they call the "Clearaudio Dust Protector," which is essentially a vinyl disc polished on one side with a nice patterned graphic and fake grooves on the other side. It doubles for me as something to use when setting VTA.

It's $50. That seems pretty steep to me, but they gave me one when I bought my Master Innovation (pretty sure their profit on the latter dwarfs their cost of the former). I think it should just be included with all their Innovation series turntables.
- 2025-12-28 05:55:08 PM
  
  Josquin des Prez wrote:
  
  Come to think of it, what Clearaudio does include with all their Innovation turntables is their white vinyl "Stroboscopic Speed Test Record." That works just as well.
2025-12-28 10:44:35 PM

Adrian Galpin wrote:

This is exactly what I do in London, to keep dust off my hard-to-clean Vertere mat. I have a selection of discs with attractive and unusual labels, including that old standby and classic, the Shaded Dog. Cheers everyone!
2025-12-29 10:19:55 AM

Rashers wrote:

I recently replaced my Clearaudio turntable with a Technics Technics SL-1300G. Aside from the instant speed, the best thing about the turntable is the "dust cover." I am not that bothered about dust, I would, however, lose sleep thinking about my naked expensive cartridge being damaged by a child, spouse or industrious cleaning person. The only drawback is that it is hard to get my Humminguru anti static gadget onto the turntable with the lid in place.
2025-12-29 10:52:12 AM

Neil K wrote:

My turntable came with my turntable, thank goodness, as I live in a very dry climate, especially in the winter.

I’d also hesitate to use this method as I’ve found the manufacturer you list after the article to be extremely unreliable and responsible for several shoddy products around my home.

😉Best of luck keeping dust at bay, and Happy New Year!
- 2026-01-03 11:01:49 AM
  
  ArtSam wrote:
  
  LMAO. I have the same problem at my house.
2025-12-29 01:11:12 PM

Steve Edwards wrote:

This brings to mind another concern I have. I removed the hinges on my Linn years ago, but still use the dust cover and lift it off when playing records. Still, I'm sure dust makes its way to the Callaro mat. I have one those sticky rollers, intended for removing debris from a records surface. I don't use it on records for the same reason I haven't used it on the mat: won't some of the adhesive be left on the surface, be it either a record or a mat? And, how do other members remove dust from their felt-type mats?

I'd appreciate any thoughts from the group.
2025-12-29 01:18:14 PM

Steve wrote:

I just used a piece of cardboard. Formed a 12" diameter circle with a compass. Cut out the circle. Placed a record on it and used a pencil to mark the spindle hole and punched out the hole. Cost is $0 and takes 5 minutes.
- 2025-12-29 01:30:52 PM
  
  Silk Dome Mid wrote:
  
  What a great look, a turntable that cost several thousand dollars with a piece of cardboard on it. Classy.
2025-12-29 01:32:39 PM

Silk Dome Mid wrote:

I like having a dust cover. It's better than needing to go over the table with a microfiber cloth every few days, and I just remove it to play LPs. No sweat, to each his or her own.
2025-12-29 02:17:52 PM

Mr. Audio wrote:

I am also a dust cover user. I even bought a dust cover cover from Digital Deck Covers. Protects the usually very expensive to replace dust cover from dust and dirt. Overkill, probably.
2025-12-29 07:11:15 PM

Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

I love this creation and I have to try this. I really must use a dustcover during play as a completely noise free-vinyl experience is really the pure vinyl benchmark for me and almost all of my library reflects it.

I do completely isolate the dustcover from vibration with Herbie's dense black silicone standoff around the dustcover and my stethoscope proves it. I've experimented over years to get no deleterious effects from the cover.

Yes, I do hear a smidge more openness without it on, but my current listening space is cursed with devasting dust levels and even after one side play, the cover is draped in dust. I find myself wiping the dustcover after every play. Next is the infrared dust light that Stereophile remarked of in a column this last year. If I could only remember when and who wrote the piece...
2025-12-30 12:43:00 AM

Ktracho wrote:

I have a GEM Dandy turntable with two arms. I got their PolyTable Dust Cover. Same idea, but made of clear plastic. I guess it's expensive for what it is (over $60), but it should work on other turntables. My main concern is the possibility of especially stink bugs crawling on the exposed parts of the turntable, but a custom plastic cover over the entire turntable would be too big to fit on my rack's upper shelf.
2025-12-30 08:08:27 AM

Georges wrote:

All my turntables* have a dust cover, sometimes an added one. And I play records with it down. In the light, you can see all the dirt that would otherwise get trapped on it. Like when you scan something and have to constantly wipe the glass with a cloth.
- = 2 eighties Goldmund Studio, (the last still made in France) + various less extreme models from Denon, Gründig, Sony, Thomson with linear motor, 3 Thorens including 1 184 & 1 318, Vieta. I'm thinking of reducing their number a bit but don't know which one to sell...
2025-12-30 11:49:53 AM

NLak wrote:

I have repurposed my old Linn LP-12 felt mats to protect my platters from dust, and I also use an old OriginLive mat on my Xerxes 20+.
2026-01-01 10:05:42 PM

GaryH wrote:

I have a SL-1200g and bought a custom made vinyl cover for $35. It covers the entire deck (I didn’t install the factory hinged cover). For complex shapes, wouldn’t a lint free cloth or light plastic sheet (e.g., vinyl table cloth) work? Depending on setup, it could cover more than one component and even reduce dust on the rack/shelf system. The advantage is better coverage, easy on/off and the cover could be shaken out, washed or otherwise cleaned when it gets dusty.
2026-01-06 03:34:59 PM

Paul Seydor wrote:

Michael: thanks for publishing the pictures. Some addition comments and information.
1. • The cork "mezzaluna" is there to keep the record from forming a seal with rubber or other polymer-type mats, like those on my vintage restored Garrard 301 or Cadence’s newly remanufactured (by SME) 301 Advanced. Without it, the record actually forms a kind of seal which then lifts the mat along with the cover. The mezzaluna keeps a seal from forming. I had the same problem with the mat on the Luxman PD-191A turntable. Of course, the seal is not super tight, so the weight of the mat soon frees itself and plops back down. But I’d rather avoid all that. BTW: this problem does not exist with my Basis 2200 because there is no mat, the record sitting instead on a solid acrylic platter. The same is true for any platter that doesn’t have a rubber-type mat, including, I’d guess, the felt on Linn Sondeks or Regas (do some of them still use felt?) Something else: the last thing I would want is air circulating under the mat, as the point is to keep out dust. The cork "mezzaluna" still allows the record to sit in pretty tight contact with the mat, and I have no circulating air in my room except for the base level circulation that exists everywhere. In other words, the platter cover is doing its job perfectly.
2026-01-06 03:38:01 PM

Paul Seydor wrote:
1. • A friend of mine suggested that my drawer-pull handle might look a little funky next to my beautifully finished albeit old school 301, the new 301 Advanced, the Basis 2200 in all its gleaming acrylic, and the mid-century modern Luxman 191A. I don’t agree, but it got me to thinking. Google “record weights and clamps” on Amazon and you’ll be taken to a multitudinous selection of weights and clamps at various prices and made from plastics, metals, polymers, etc. etc. etc. in colors from matt or gleaming black, silver, gold, red, and blue. The one pictured here, made by Menesia (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYCL525M?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_1&th=1) cost me all of $10.97 delivered from Amazon and is available in black, red, silver, and gold. It’s a got a felt bottom which makes it easy to affix it to a record label with Gorilla Glue. It’s also very light in weight (5.5 oz), which means that you’re not keeping a heavy weight on the bearing when the table not in use. If you prefer that the whole label be covered, then you will find several alternatives, including clamps, that do cover the whole label.
2026-01-06 03:40:14 PM

Paul Seydor wrote:
1. • Tips: when you glue it, record and handle have to be on the platter. Apply glue to the underside of the pull or weight, being sure you keep the glue well away from the spindle hole (this should not be difficult as you don’t need much Gorilla Glue to achieve secure bond. Once handle and record are in place, balance a hardback book on the handle (I used Emily Wilson’s recent outstanding translation of the Iliad) so that the glue sets. An hour or two should do the job. Another tip: if you opt for a drawer pull, make sure you buy one that has only a wooden hole, not threaded inserts, because you will have to drill out the hole to accommodate the spindle and it should be a bit larger diameter than the spindle for ease of us. For this reason, weights or clamps may be a better way to go if you’re not already equipped with a drill. I am, and another reason I opted for drawer pulls is that I have four turntables, so I ordered a packet of eight or ten pulls for around seven or eight dollars. I also made a few up for friends, including our editor and publisher.
2026-01-06 03:41:07 PM

Paul Seydor wrote:
1. • Re: whole-table dust covers, Michael, I have to say that I do miss them. The Luxman 191A, for example, with its mid-century modern aesthetics simply looks more complete with it, as do the new Technics table and the old standby Linn Sondek. My Basis is superb, but without a dust cover the acrylic gets very dusty and requires more maintenance than I like to have to perform. Remember Thoreau at Walden? He was out awalking one day and came upon three pieces of limestone that he picked up and brought back to his cabin because he thought they would be nice ornaments on his writing desk. Within a few days he discovered to his horror that they required dusting, whereupon he immediately tossed them out because their aesthetic value wasn’t worth the effort required to keep them dust free!
2026-01-06 03:42:25 PM

Paul Seydor wrote:
1. Several years ago I had a dust cover made for my Basis 2200 that fit over, cake-pan like, the entire setup. You know what? It made the thing look much better too, it completed it. A final point: regardless of whether cake-pan or hinged cover, I always place one of my home-made platter covers on the platter and you should too.