Ok guys

Neither up nor down. Off when playing records, on when not playing records.

It does appear that only the users of suspended tables like the SOTA are fully in the camp of dust cover on and down.

I guess I have to say yes and no... Lol.

The lift off cover on my Garrard 401 is only on while not being used to play records so definitely off on that one.

My Technics SL-10 being a linear tracker has to have the cover down and closed to even play so .....

Back in the day, I discovered that my LP12 sounded a lot better with no dust cover. I was in the listening chair when a friend lifted the lid while music was playing. With it on, the music and soundstage sounded literally closed in. So it was a ritual to take it off and slot it back in when finished. Now I never even consider using a cover when playing.

So, suspension per se does not determine the benefit of a dust cover, based on noromance’s testimony. I’m not keeping track any more, but I think there are 3 who use a cover while playing LPs. The rest of us are on the other side of the fence. If I had to put it in a nutshell, I would say that the use of a dust cover sounded closed in to me, just as no romance says. By now I guess we could collectively advise the OP to simply try it for himself and make his own judgment. By the way this has everything to do with sound quality and nothing to do with dust protection.

I take it off while playing. Simply because the hinges broke a couple of decades ago so it is either on/covered or completely removed. I do not put it back on while playing not to accidentally make some damage while positioning. It comes close to the weight, etc.