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How to Select Turntable Covers for Your Audio Player

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Rebecca Siggers
How to Select Turntable Covers for Your Audio Player

Let’s face it; turntable dust covers are not pretty. This takes it away from the beauty of the record player. Think of it as wearing glasses. They are not the most attractive accessories in the world, but they protect your eyes. The sale of turntable units in the United States reached 75,000 in 2020 alone. For the vast majority of record player owners, covering your turntable is non-negotiable. The real challenge is: how do you select the ideal dust cover for your audio player?

It's high time you knew what to look out for when selecting a turntable cover. First, you deserve to know why turntable dust covers are a must-have.

Why You Need a Turntable Dust Cover

To appreciate custom turntable dust covers, you need to know how they protect your turntable. Let’s check some of the most dreaded enemies of your audio player.

Dust

It is your audio player's most persistent nemesis. Think of dust as that annoying pain that keeps coming back. Dust is a silent killer of your record player.

However, like air, dust is everywhere - even in seemingly clean environments. Turntables gather dust speedily when they are open. Thus, this could result in damage to your records over a long period.

Liquids

 

If electronics had an archenemy, it would be water or any other liquid. It is because water is a dissolver while electronic devices run on positively charged ions. When they mix, the dissolver splits the ions and renders them less effective. The bottom line is that they don’t get along.

Although water rarely ruins vinyl records, the record player could develop some fault. It makes the stylus faulty, which could affect the quality of the record.

 

Humans, Pets, Everything

There’s not a more sophisticated way to ward people off your record player than covering it. Thus, try to shield your turntable to keep it away from prying hands (or paws). For instance, kids and (not so innocent) pets would not find it easy to access your turntable. That way, your turntable would last longer.

 

Image source: pixabay

How to Select the Ideal Turntable Dust Cover for Your Record Player

Choose a Turntable Cover You Can Maneuver

 

Lifting and replacing turntable covers forms part of the routine once you get a dust cover. Yet, dealing with hinges and screws each time you want to play a record is not always fun. This process could take a couple of minutes. Today, that’s a lot of work.

 

Instead of hard plastic dust covers, you could consider fabric or anti-static nylon dust covers. They are much easier to maneuver. However, if handling screws and tools is not a problem for you, virtually any solid dust cover would suffice.  

Look Out for The Flexible Covers

In the end, there's always a possibility that you may replace your audio player. Thus, when selecting a turntable cover for your audio player, look out for flexibility.

Some dust covers are compatible with virtually any type of record player you could imagine. Then, some only work well with Pioneer players and other selected record players. By choosing a flexible turntable cover, you would not have to worry about getting a new one when you change your player.

 

Consider the Size

Yes, size does matter. Turntables come in different designs and sizes. This feature is why you have to be sure of the size of your turntable before shopping for a dust cover. No matter how fancy or handy a dust cover might seem, it has to fit your unit.

 

Therefore, know the accurate dimensions of the turntable, including depth and width. With the proper knowledge of these parameters, the height would be easy to determine.

Find a Cover That Is Easy to Clean

 

Even people with questionable organizational skills cannot bear to see a pile of dust on their precious audio player. Thus, cleaning your turntable dust cover is non-negotiable. For this reason, you should look for a turntable dust cover that is easy to clean. To illustrate, plastic turntable dust covers are one of the easiest to clean. It only takes about a minute to wipe it down with a damp cloth.

Make Sure It Is Easy to Fold and Store

 

Another challenge with audio players is that they take up space. People who live in small flats have difficulty placing their TV sets and turntables on one shelf. Having a dust cover does not make it any easier. Also, if you are a DJ playing records on the road, a tour bus, or a booth, you would need space. The ideal way to solve this is to have a dust cover you can fold with ease. Once you can fold and store away the dust cover, life becomes easy.

 

Fabric turntable dust covers are perfect for this. They are easy to take off the turntable and equally easy to fold. You could also try other soft lids like anti-static nylon brands. They fold with ease as well.

 

Image source: pixabay

Conclusion

If you want to appreciate what a turntable dust cover does, do not touch your player for some time. The amount of dust to clean off your turntable could give you anxiety. Although dust covers are for protecting your record player, selecting the ideal one can be tricky. As long as one knows what to look for in a turntable dust cover, you will choose the best fit for your unit.

 

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Rebecca Siggers
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