Pro-Ject Cover It DS

A dirty stylus, a platter speckled with particles: on a turntable of this caliber, dust takes its toll on both maintenance and playback quality. Pro-Ject’s RPM Carbon and Signature 10 nevertheless come without a dust cover, as their plinths cannot accommodate hinges. The brand’s answer is an acrylic cover that you lift off and put back on, without attaching anything to the turntable.

A one-piece lift-off cover

No hinges, no screws, no mounting point on the plinth. The Cover it DS fits over the entire turntable and is removed in the same way, using both hands, as its 4.3 kg of thick acrylic makes one-handed handling impossible. A cutout at the rear allows the phono cable and power supply to exit, avoiding the need to unplug anything each time you listen.

This principle has a direct consequence during playback: nothing remains on the turntable. No acrylic panel raised above the record, no hinges transmitting airborne vibrations to the plinth, no mechanical force applied to a platter that Pro-Ject has specifically sought to isolate from its environment. The trade-off is equally straightforward: you need somewhere to place the cover while listening to one side, and that space must be larger than the turntable itself.

Why these turntables come without a cover

RPM Carbon models rest on a sculpted plinth with asymmetric geometry, combined with an external motor and magnetic feet; the Signature 10 follows the same logic of substantial mass and isolation. None of these chassis offers a flat surface at the rear for screwing on hinges, and adding them would mean coupling a large acrylic panel to a plinth designed to resist resonance. The removable cover is the solution that best fits this design.

The Cover it range is available in several sizes depending on the turntable family, from compact versions designed for the RPM 1 and 3 Carbon to this DS model, the largest in the catalog. It is the only one that covers the Signature 10 and RPM 10 Carbon.

Check dimensions before ordering

Two sets of measurements matter, for different reasons. The internal dimensions, 515 mm wide by 285 mm high and 415 mm deep, determine what fits underneath. The external dimensions, 525 × 290 × 425 mm, determine whether your furniture can accommodate it: 42.5 cm of depth extends beyond the shelf of many hi-fi racks, and you still need 29 cm of vertical clearance to lift the cover without hitting the shelf above.

The turntable measurement must include everything that comes with it. An RPM 10 Carbon is listed at 480 × 210 × 330 mm, leaving some room to spare, but it is supplied with its Ground it Carbon isolation base, whose height must be added, and its external motor must also fit under the cover. Counterweight, record clamp and cable exit must all be factored in. The official compatibility list (Signature 10, RPM 5, 9 and 10 Carbon) remains a starting point: beyond that, a tape measure is the deciding factor, including for a turntable from another brand.

Acrylic transparency and maintenance

Upon delivery, the cover comes protected by a film on each side. Removing them is the first thing to do, otherwise you may think the acrylic is already cloudy or scratched—a confusion common enough for retailers to point it out.

Acrylic remains softer than glass. Wiping a dusty surface with a dry cloth acts like a mild abrasive and will eventually dull its transparency within a few months. A damp microfiber cloth, or a product designed for transparent plastics, avoids the problem; ammonia-based glass cleaners and alcohol solvents should be avoided, as they can crack PMMA over time. Another characteristic of the material is that it builds up static electricity and attracts the dust it is meant to keep out, a phenomenon that commercially available anti-static products reduce. On the other hand, acrylic withstands ultraviolet light well and does not yellow like other transparent plastics. It is manufactured in Europe.

Technical specifications

General description

• Type: acrylic protective cover
• Function: effectively protects the turntable from dust
• Design: fully covers the turntable

Compatibility

• Compatible models: Pro-Ject Signature 10, RPM 5 Carbon, RPM 9 Carbon, RPM 10 Carbon
• Smaller turntables compatible depending on dimensions

Material and construction

• Material: transparent acrylic
• Cable routing: rear cutout to facilitate connection

Dimensions and weight

• External dimensions (W × H × D): 525 × 290 × 425 mm
• Internal dimensions (W × H × D): 515 × 285 × 415 mm
• Weight: 4.3 kg