Do speakers sound better with the grills off ? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Dmax
01-28-2006, 09:29 AM
And is it safe for your speakers if you prefer to leave the grills off , :confused: I love the way my speakers look with the grills off but I dont want to harm them.

N. Abstentia
01-28-2006, 09:55 AM
Only you can answer that question! Which way sounds better to you?

As long as nobody in your house has pokey fingers, leaving the grilles off will not cause any damage.

bacchanal
01-28-2006, 10:39 AM
It depends on the speaker. My Studio 40s (already a little aggressive on the high end) are noticably brighter with the grills off, and Paradigm recommends leaving the grills on.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to leave the grills off, as long as you don't have kids or pokey guests around.

Pat D
01-28-2006, 11:04 AM
And is it safe for your speakers if you prefer to leave the grills off , :confused: I love the way my speakers look with the grills off but I dont want to harm them.
Some do (probably most), some don't. The effect of the grilles on the response can be good or bad, depending on how the speakers are designed. Some manufacturers make the grille assemblies an integral part of the design for some of their more expensive lines, so that their speakers sound and measure better with them on. The old Audio magazine used to measure this and when the manufacturer specifies grilles on, Stereophile sometimes does so. Look at Figure 5 of the measurements John Atkinson for his review of the Paradigm Signature S2 in Stereophile:

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/705paradigm/index3.html

It shows the difference the grille makes on axis.

PSB makes the same recommendation for their Stratus and Platinum Series, and Stereophile showed this measurement for my own speakers, PSB Stratus Minis, in Figure 4:

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/629/index4.html

I don't have any links to show what happens when the reverse is true, when removing the grilles improves the response, but there are some in old Audio magazines.

My first experience with this was with my old Kef 104 speakers. The cabinet had a nice, visually attractive raised edge on the front, but without the foam grille, the sound was quite washy and less distinct. With the big foam grilles, which were quite thin over the drivers, the sound directly to the sides was absorbed and so could not diffract on the nice raised edges, and so they sounded cooler and much clearer with the grilles on.

In the end, it's up to you what sounds best, but I try to base my primary advice on what I think will sound better to most people, based on the research at the NRC.

Woochifer
01-28-2006, 11:09 AM
It depends on the speaker. My Studio 40s (already a little aggressive on the high end) are noticably brighter with the grills off, and Paradigm recommends leaving the grills on.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to leave the grills off, as long as you don't have kids or pokey guests around.

In the case of Paradigm, they account for the diffractive characteristics of the grille when voicing their speakers. That's why they recommend leaving the grilles on, because the grilles are part of the actual speaker design. Other manufacturers might not take this approach, and indeed might sound better with the grilles off.

RGA
01-28-2006, 12:44 PM
Depends on the maker -- most maker design their speakers with the grill in place and the sound can be fatiguing if you take the grill off. Other companies have a grill merely for looks and to cover the drivers up as they are not always felt to be good for the decor. They recommend you listen with the grills off. My speakers have grills but the owner was so upset that his speakers were being displayed with the grills on that he no longer sells his speakers with grills. After all they make the sound worse and the customer is footed for the bill -- so he dumped them. They look better without grills because there is no holes in the speakers. My other set of speakers (Wharfedales) have a supposedly acoustically transparent grill so on or off they sound the same. Of course the grill is largely see through and only really tones down the silver rims of the drivers.

Usually your manual will state what you you oughta be doing -- set-up, wiring positioning and grill on or off. If it doesn;t say eitehr way then chances are your grills should be kept on. Then again your ears can tell you all this too.

texlle
01-28-2006, 02:06 PM
I prefer the sound of my Dyns with the grilles off, plus I think they look better that way. It seems to bring the highs out a little more which is a plus for me at least. But I also have them in my bedroom....away from drunk college people.

Now, my B&W DM603s2 floors in the common area/living room have their grilles on. They tend to be bright as it is, especially with my Cambridge Audio amp. So, I see it better to leave them on. They look good with the grilles off, but they do look more sleek and complement the decor better with them on. But the main reason I put them back on is, like I said, college kids like to get drunk, go up to a speaker, stare at the tweeter and say "Whahat's this" as they poke it out.

Dmax
01-28-2006, 05:50 PM
Thanx guys !