They don't serve an acoustic purpose. They're to keep stuff from hitting your speaker cones. There's no reason to take the grills of. All that will do is make them more succeptible to damage.
J. Vigne
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Some speakers are "voiced" with the grills on and should be used that way.
Ok, thanks. I always keep my grills on but since I started reading audio reviews- I noticed that they often make commenst like, "they look great with or with out the grills." And that made me wonder if there was any reason to take them off. I'll keep mine on
Take the grilles off. Though they're very fine, grillles are still an obtacle between the drivers and your ears. The difference is rather minimal though. Some say it's all psychological.
I have to say that taking the grills off will make the speakers sound more open and unconstrained. There is an obvious difference for me, much more than when I changed cables.
However, being a parent of a three year old boy, wouldn't dream of taking them off for at least a few more years. If there is no one around that would destroy the cones, I would certainly take the grills off.
I have to say that taking the grills off will make the speakers sound more open and unconstrained. There is an obvious difference for me, much more than when I changed cables.
However, being a parent of a three year old boy, wouldn't dream of taking them off for at least a few more years. If there is no one around that would destroy the cones, I would certainly take the grills off.
JamesCB
Unregistered guest
Posted on
J. Vigne has the only correct answer so far. Consult your manufacturer. There are quite a few that design the grills to remain in place.
Seaker grilles are not designed to restrain the sound they are designed to protect the speakers from damage . Have you ever priced out replacing drivers , mids, tweeters ??
Most speaker grilles are built down to the price so it is recommended they are removed for serious listening. There are a few speakers which are designed to be listened to with grilles on (Naim and Royd are two that come to mind).
Grilles are often describes as 'acoustically transparent' but I find I can hear a significant improvement once the grille is removed, and it's not like this is difficult to do. If you're worried about kids, ensure you put the grilles back on afterwards.
Most speakers aren't designed to sound their best with the grills on, but some are - for example Paradigm drivers are flush with the bezel only with the grilles on, minimizing diffraction effects. They're in the minority though. Many companies will recommend listening with the grilles off, including Totem and Thiel, as long as it's not a problem (kids, smoke, dust etc.)