Grills on or off?

puroagave

puroagave

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I've owned speakers that had integral grills (metal or cloth) that weren't meant to be removed ('stats, ribbons - planars mostly) and box speakers with removable grills. Depending on the manufacturer some were implicit about keeping them in place as it was factored into the measurements and ultimately 'voiced' that way.

whats your preference?
 
BlueFox said:
Déjà Vu all over again. :)

Off. Sounds better, looks better. For both the two channel, and HT system.
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there you go, i'm probably in minority but i dislike naked drivers staring back at me it ruins the illusion. for that matter, i don't like shiny gear for the same reason. if possible all my speakers would be black and the gear too.
 
Exactly. Every year on every audio forum this subject comes up. Some prefer grills on, others off. Whatever. The funny part is at some point the subject becomes which is "better". :rolleyes:
 
Grills off for me. I usually don't even unwrap them.

Rob, agree visuals help the illusion, too, but I usually then listen with the lights down low and the center of the back wall spot lit like a stage. Helps me forget drivers are staring back at me in the face.
 
Grills on the the tweeter and woofers, off of the mid range drivers. I don't want to be looking at the woofers all the time.
 
Best to read manufacturer's instructions and reviews to see what is optimal. Sonic degradation is minimal with my Salon 2 grills and they look great so I leave them on. I read a review on the Magico S5 where it said the grills severely degraded the sound. So in that case I would leave them off unless you're worrying about kids damaging them.

Ken
 
I know there are a few speakers that were designed to be listened to with the grills in place and the tweeter would be too hot without the grills in place, but I have never owned those speakers. If the grills can come off, I have always taken them off.
 
MDP said:
That's good to know Steve, since I have Epicon 8's coming in the next couple of weeks. :woot:
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sweet Mark congrats!!!!!! i been told they are a speaker i have to hear. best of luck with them!!
 
Grill frames add diffraction and the grill material itself adds a very small amount of attenuation to the high frequencies.

Some manufacturers design crossovers with grills in place, some don't. In the end, it comes down to personal preference, there is no right or wrong answer.
 
depends. the vandersteen treo and quatro have integral grills when removed leave the driver frames exposed that will cause diffraction. he never demos w/o grills as his speakers are designed with them as part of the equation.

my Snells have thick wool gaskets surrounding the drivers à la Dunlay that are designed with the grill in mind.
 
Isn't Sonus Faber another one where some models (at least) are designed to be used with grills on? I know my Acoustic Zen came with a note saying the grills are for packing protection only and should be left off for listening.
 
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