With dust covers it probably depends on proximity to the speakers and/or room modes. I use one on my Linn LP12 and don’t take if off for listening sessions. However, I do close it while playing so it’s not acting like a sail for airborne vibrations. There’s lots of folklore around vinyl and I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to listening to it, e.g., I don’t have the bottom cover on my LP12. With a dust cover it’s a simple A/B - try with it on and off - hopefully you can’t hear a difference and then leave it on and your record player will stay cleaner. 
I think you are on the right track to work with what you have before getting too deep in that rabbit hole. There are lots of opinions in this area, and lots of accessories to buy, so use them as options rather than gospel, here are my thoughts on free things … First thing is make sure the table is as level as you can get it. I know you said you leveled it, but don’t want to read too much/little into that. I checked the manual and a circular level is included. May not be the best choice, but the important point is you want to level the platter, not the plinth (the platter is probably flat, not dished, but confirm with a straight edge so you level properly). If you have a regular level (e.g., 6” carpenters) you might want to verify the platter is truly level. Check at various positions, i.e., check, spin 90 degrees, check again, repeat. Next is proper installation and alignment of the cartridge, I assume the cartridge was pre-installed, further adjustment may help but requires hardware ($$) to do properly so at this point best to accept that as is. What you can adjust is anti-skate and cartridge tracking force. Tracking force can make subtle differences within the proper range (Ortofon recommends 1.6 - 2 grams, the 1.8 grams is Ortofon’s “ideal”). The method used for setting tracking force on this tone arm is a bit crude, so if you can borrow a stylus force gage to verify the setting, that would be a good thing. Anti-skate is a little more difficult since you can’t really measure it. Best thing is to listen, if you hear distortion in one channel, particularly near the end of the record you need to tweak the anti-skate (can’t recall which way to adjust based on which channel has distortion, so go easy). Lastly, isolation of the turntable is important. If you have a very solid floor (e.g., concrete) then air borne vibration is the concern and the stand (Lack table) is not so critical. Conversely, if you have a springy floor (e.g., weak floor joists) then the stand is important, mass can help, better yet use a wall mounted shelf (can be expensive). I will say using a sub-plinth under the turntable (e.g., IKEA Lamplig cutting board) can sometimes help, and if it doesn’t help you can use it in the kitchen! There’s a lot more that can be done, but money will be involved, so get to know your turntable before proceeding. Good luck!
Edit: I saw some comments on the dust cover, definitely leave it completely off when playing records. No good can come from that!
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I too have a Linn Sondek LP 12 Keel, Lingo 4, Ittok LV II tone arm on a Sound Organisation stand. Speakers are 3-4 feet away. In different configurations I could hear a difference with the dust cover removed. Not hard to do just try it and go with what you like. No folklore here, it’s based specifically on my listening experience. For long multiple LP listening sessions I remove the dust cover.I have tried the LP 12 with the bottom cover removed, and agree removal is a benefit. My Rega RP8 requires the dust cover, more of a shield, to be removed so not a concern. My VPI Prime has a Ginko dust cover which must be removed to use the turntable, so once again not an issue. Consider experimenting with the dust cover as a free tweak. YMMV.
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I agree, once the cartridge is broken in you may want to adjust tracking force slightly. I wouldn’t bother with it until it has a minimum of 10 hours on it, preferably 25. Ortofons tend to do best tracked slightly heavy, meaning 1.8-1.9 grams is a fair target. Then listen and adjust accordingly, stetting it low can result in mistracking and ultimately grove damage to the actual record due to the stylus dancing in the groove.
I wouldn’t go overboard as you could easily exceed the value of your turntable with tweaks that may be marginal. Leveling it is critical and costs nothing. Personally I’d spend my near term dollars on a handful of records I treasure and hold off on turntable tweaks. After all it’s about the music, isn’t it?
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Totally agree!
And yet, with my turntable being 20 feet away from my speakers, I can’t hear a bit of difference! This has to be the easiest A/B ever - there are no hard rules in hifi.
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Have a Sound Org stand myself, but replaced it with a Neuance shelf on my target rack. Sound Org now supports my PWT. Also have a LVII (in black!).
I would love to have a room where any component could be 20 feet from the speakers! Distance is your friend when it comes to isolation.
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…and then there is the cost of the cables. I had a set-up years ago where the stereo amplifiers, preamp and turntable were in a small adjacent room and the speakers were in the listening room. It was an ideal setup.
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That is ideal for isolating the equipment, but unless you are using an RF remote it is a bit of a pain to adjust volume or change sources, let alone go out of the room flip the record and get back in your seat before the music starts playing. I’ve considered that, but I’m in the basement and am very limited on where I could put equipment outside the room (actually, inside the room too!).
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Came across this and thought you may find it interesting. I wouldn’t chase down any isolation schemes until your new turntable and cartridge are broken in. This tends to be a rather controversial topic:
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I am enjoying all that are sharing based on their experience.
@dancingsea apologies if I’ve stepped into your original post. I’m hoping you’ve made the decision to pick up a turntable (not sure where you are at in the process), and would love to hear your input once you are setup.
I do want to share this as an interesting (maybe obvious) observation. I’ve listened to (4) albums that I purchased locally and all (4) provide a fairly broad level of “musical goodness” - more so than I’ve come to expect from my CD/digital setup. For instance, one is totally flat with little soundstage, bass / highs missing; another album with wide soundstage (banjo playing 2-3 ft beyond my right speaker; I have one with very nice soundstage depth, but mid/highs rolled off. One with a very forward soundstage overall.
None have the dynamics of my digital setup, but again, I was not expecting that from my entry level setup. Just sharing my experience so far. Note this is still with less than 10 hours on stylus, so things may change once I have 40-50 hours on it.
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Came across a great quote from John Darko about vinyl and turntables…
My enthusiasm for records doesn’t stem from the format’s (allegedly superior) sound quality. I’m into it for the crate digging – the thrill of the chase in unearthing out-of-print 90s electronica/indie in Munich’s and Tokyo’s record shops – and the tea ceremony of playback.
I love the smell and feel and look of record stores, and finding something cool, something that might bring me back to a favorite time or memory. And i love having a thousand records on the shelves in my den. But his phrase “the tea ceremony of playback,” well, I love that most of all.
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I’m following your exploration with great interest! I’ve been sidetracked by racks, Decware ZRock2 EQ, and Mark Levinson’s Master Class software that purports to turn my digital files into analog masters. I hope to resume the Fluance vinyl exploration in the coming months.
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Thank you for sharing. I think what has me thrilled is part of this is taking me back my childhood, where I was introduced to vinyl. I think the differences I called out are fun to hear from the recordings; 35 years ago my system was so basic, I never heard the differences in soundstage and image. The fact I now know there are these differences, just adds to the engagement factor and rather than trying “dial them in/out” like an audiophile, I can just enjoy and listen.
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It’s definitely about ritual.
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It also depends on where and how you started. With a used turntable, used phono pre, used preamp, used amp, I was in for about $1,000, and a happy camper. A very good Soundsmith cartridge a couple years later, I was all in for about $2,000, happier camper. I finally had to replace the worn out used turntable, so now I’m in about $3,000. If the rest of my system is revealing enough, I would not argue that a PS Audio transport and dac might sound better. But I’m not digital curious enough to spend that much to find out. On the used market you may be able to get a pretty good start for $1,000, but it probably won’t be that satisfying if you have a good digital front end.
My experience is once you get a top end phono stage, your entry level vinyl won’t sound that entry level anymore.
I bought a top end pre amp with build-in phono in it, it wasn’t the main reason I purchased the unit, but holy crap, once I hook my lowly almost 10 years old Rega P3 with a MM cartridge to it… I have to re examine my entire LP collection, and I’m now looking to get a MC cartridge just to see…
Crazy hobby.
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I have a budget phono stage (Schiit Mani), budget table (Fluance RT85 - comes with Ortofon 2M Blue cart.). Clean, undamaged LPs sound incredible on this set up. Dirty or damaged records - well, they’ll sound like crap on anything. But you don’t have to spend a fortune on gear to get into vinyl.
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I recently went back to vinyl as well. My father is now almost 85 and wasn’t using his TT anymore, a Thorens TD 160 B mk2 with SME 3009 S2 arm. I had it fully restored and bought an Ortofon Quintet Black S and the PSA Stellar phono. He gave me his 275 records and I had them cleaned.
I did not expect this fairly modest vinyl set up to get close to the PST and DSD, or my streaming chain (Nucleus +, Lumin U1, Matrix into DSD), but I have been very pleasantly surprised. A different kind of experience, it’s difficult to compare.
I enjoy all three sources, they all convey musical emotions really well, in different ways.
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