To Grille Or Not To Grille?

I just got my first pair of grown-up speakers, and am curious about keeping 1 or both grilles on or not?

Is there a difference in sound? Is it just aesthetically pleasing?
When I see pictures of speakers there is always one w/o grille and one with?

What do most people do? Is this just a totally silly subject?:lol:

either on or off.

the difference in sound might be there, depending on the grille...

the photo's you see are from the manufacturer itself, and are used to show how the speaker looks with and without the grille. so these are no actual photo's from how people have their speakers set up in their homes...

I, for one, leave the grilles of. It doesn't really matter with my current speakers (apart from the esthetical factor, the difference in sound was marginally small), but with my previous speakers it did matter, since the grille was used to stop diffraction, so there I usually left them on the speakers...



Keep them spinning,
Bert.

Aha, diffraction!! Yes I noticed a bit of vibration from the one speaker that I took the grille off of (although I was blasting Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at the time;) )

I still have to wonder what a majority of people do...grilled or ungrilled!!

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Originally Posted by valmeow

Aha, diffraction!! Yes I noticed a bit of vibration from the one speaker that I took the grille off of (although I was blasting Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at the time;) )

I still have to wonder what a majority of people do...grilled or ungrilled!!

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that vibration probably won't have anything to do with the grille...

diffraction is a when the sound from the driver reflects on the speaker's baffle, mostly this is an issue with the tweeter, this results in a noticable decrease in imaging quality. Today, however, this has nothing to do with the grille anymore, so don't worry about the diffraction...

btw, what was the 'vibration' you noticed? could you describe the sound?

and what the majority of people do is the least of the matters, it's what you think is best. Removing the grilles, or leaving them on is your choice.

listen to them with the grilles on and with the grilles off, and see what you like most, if you hear any difference at all. If you'd hear a difference, this will most likely be that with the grilles on, there might be slightly less high, and they could sound a bit 'muffled' (a really heavy word for the marginally small difference you could hear).

if you can't hear any difference at all, go for the looks. What pleases you most, grilles on or off?

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

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Originally Posted by valmeow

I just got my first pair of grown-up speakers, and am curious about keeping 1 or both grilles on or not?

Is there a difference in sound? Is it just aesthetically pleasing?
When I see pictures of speakers there is always one w/o grille and one with?

What do most people do? Is this just a totally silly subject?:lol:

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Well, kinda. :smilewinkgrin:
As a general rule, if you have kids and/or pets, you're better off keeping them on. If you like the way they look with the grills off (maybe the speaker shapes add to the decor geometrically) leave them off. I leave mine on because that's just the way I've done it over the years.

Hi Bert,

Mea culpa!! I stupidly thought diffraction was the same as vibration. As I stated earlier, I was blasting (with a lot of bass) the 1812 Overture and noticed vibrations on the shelf where my left speaker is. It turned out to be a few small items next to the speaker that started shaking...LOL!!:Yawn:

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Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas

Well, kinda. :smilewinkgrin:
As a general rule, if you have kids and/or pets, you're better off keeping them on. If you like the way they look with the grills off (maybe the speaker shapes add to the decor geometrically) leave them off. I leave mine on because that's just the way I've done it over the years.

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Hi Rich,

What's up with kids and/or pets? I imagine cat hair could get into an ungrilled speaker, but kids?:crazy:

Luckily for me I only have my love-bug of a cat, and I think he likes the grille on...;)

Kids as in... Mommy, what's this round thing that I just poked my finger through?

Pets as in... Ahh, my own personal scratching post. I have two cats, one tries to use the left speaker and the other tries to use the right. Too bad they have no front claws. :ihih:

Oh, now I get it about kids...is it because their hands are usually dirty and transfer that to an ungrilled speaker?

Another good reason I'm happy that I NEVER had any of those little urchins running amok...:21:

Meeoww!!

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Originally Posted by valmeow

Another good reason I'm happy that I NEVER had any of those little urchins running amok...:21:

Meeoww!!

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WoooooHoooooo!!! :eek:

I leave mine off because I do hear a difference in the sound. But I keep them close so that I can put them back on when we have company with young kids. Some kids like to push in the center domes of the cones. My cats never touch the speakers accept to lean on them when they are sleeping.

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Originally Posted by valmeow

Oh, now I get it about kids...is it because their hands are usually dirty and transfer that to an ungrilled speaker?

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kids hands are not nessecarily dirty, absolutely not...

it's just that they do tend to like to poke their fingers through the tweeters...
(kids like shiny things...)

note that this does not apply to every kid, I never felt the urge to push in dad's speaker's tweeters...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

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Originally Posted by basite

it's just that they do tend to like to poke their fingers through the tweeters...
(kids like shiny things...)


Keep them spinning,
Bert.

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:smile5: :smile5: :smile5: Just like me and diamonds!!:devil:

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Originally Posted by valmeow

I still have to wonder what a majority of people do...grilled or ungrilled!!

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I'm surprised no one has mentioned BBQ sauce yet.

I keep the grilles on my most expensive speakers, even though they sound just a hair (and I mean a thin one) different when the grilles are off. All my other speakers have the grilles off, even though there is little audible difference with them on. The reason I keep them on my best speakers is to protect them from not just kids and pets (they know enough to steer clear of my gear), but also the occasional elbow, vacuum cleaner handle, fly poop, or whatever could accidentally graze them ever so slightly. How's that's for a complex?

Since you're looking to break in those new speakers, I recommend Ottorino Respighi as a great initiation.

As others have pointed out, this can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, Paradigm designs their speakers with the grille's diffraction pattern in mind. Other manufacturers might treat the grille as an afterthought, and you might be better served leaving the grille off in those cases.

With subwoofers, it's not an issue because the wave lengths on low frequencies won't be affected by a grille.

Woochifer is correct - it depends on the maker. To add, some makers provide an acoustically invisible (well they claim) grille. My old Wharfedales had a grille that would cover the garish display of drivers - this was the precurser to my Wharfedale Vanguards and you can see the one on the left with the grille on compared to the one on the right - http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/hfw/olde...fedalee70.html

My main speakers are from Audio Note - and they came with grilles but they are meant to be listened without the grilles. The grilles were provided for cosmetic reasons. The company owner was so unhappy seeing dealers playing his speakers with the grilles on that he stopped making grilles altogether so now you must see the drivers and the big fat puffy foam surround http://www.dagogo.com/AudioNoteAN-E-SE-Sig.html

And then there's always Martin Logan - you can see right through them.:16:

Yes, kids do like to poke, but it's unfair to leave it at that. I know plenty of adults who can't keep their grubby mitts off speakers. They want to push on the dust caps, they want to move the speaker in and out to test the damping, they want to feel the silk dome, test the rigidity of the Ti tweeter, touch the ribs, feel the smoothness of the inverted dome.

This 3" Ti dome midrange was ruined by an inquisitive friend. "Well, I thought it was Titanium. Titanium's supposed to be tough, right?"

So friends in the house = grilles on the speakers.

Since I don't have to worry about "grubby friends", "grubby kids" or "grubby kitty-cats" (my cat is a purrfect gentleman), I think I'll wait and see what my husband prefers.

Oh, I forgot about my "bull in a china shop" housekeeper - I better keep them on...:(

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Originally Posted by valmeow

(my cat is a purrfect gentleman)

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Nice kitty. May I pet it?

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Originally Posted by GMichael

Nice kitty. May I pet it?

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Ooooh, is someone getting a bit fresh?:eek:

I'm trying to figure out how to get a picture of Cosmo from "My Pictures" to here!!!

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Originally Posted by valmeow

Ooooh, is someone getting a bit fresh?:eek:

I'm trying to figure out how to get a picture of Cosmo from "My Pictures" to here!!!

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Of coarse! I'm a ....

When you reply or post, there is a retangular button marked "Upload/Manage Photos." Click there, then Browse. Pick out your pic and then hit upload.

Here is a picture of my beloved pussy, Cosmo!!:yesnod:

Yea!!! It worked...:(

That's a pretty dark looking kitty. Reminds me of a riddle.

What does a bleach blond and a 747 have in common?

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Originally Posted by GMichael

That's a pretty dark looking kitty. Reminds me of a riddle.

What does a bleach blond and a 747 have in common?

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If it's the one I'm thinking of, I triple-dog dare ya! :)