Dust cover is off when record is playing. Check out my table-Rega P8. Roy Gandy designed it after a cost no object limited edition, Naiad (might be misspelled). They only made a handful, sold to people who knew Roy so they wouldn’t be glommed up by collectors who would triple the price(or more) and never play them.
You can’t play a record with the dust cover on. Easy to put it back when not using it to keep the dust off the table. He is a genius-I trust what he puts on his 2nd best table.
Best part of the table is the arm. Simple design with superb execution. Not an adventure to cue like arms on other tables that look like they belong in a physics lab. They look cool, but how do they sound?