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Speakers Covers: on, off or doesn't matter?

js bach

js bach

Active Member
I'm sure there may be a thread on this somewhere, but I am going ask anyway: Who keeps the speaker covers on and who keeps them off? Does it make a difference in sound? Are speakers engineered to be heard with them on? I have Paradigm speakers and my covers even have cut-outs around the drivers. I have recently taken my covers off and they seem to be a little more "open." Am I psyching myself out here or is there an audible difference? Or, doesn't it matter one way or another?

jsb
 
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I go both ways depending on circumstances. Are there "button" pushing little tykes around? Am I alone trying to get the most out of my system? Are the speakers dreadful to look at naked? F or the record, on the most detailed and revealing speakers I've had, I could hear a difference between off and on.
 
Go to an ocean beach and observe the waves. Note what happens to waves as they reach the sand without obstruction, and then compare that picture to what happens to waves as they meet pylons under a pier. Take notes.

Or, at home, being careful not to burn any fingers, put a water filled tea pot on a stove and bring it to a healthy boil. Note the appearance of the steam stream coming out of the spout. Then hold a coarse woven piece of cloth across the steam stream. Take notes.

Now lets discuss what happens to air trying to pass through speaker covers. Perhaps the discussion will eventually drift to "scale", and the degree of turbulence generated, and whether it is audible.

Personally I think my speakers are a bit clearer without the grille cloths. That's my untested opinion. However, if I'm planning a long listening session with speakers, the grilles come off.
 
Depends. Some manufacturers claim the speakers are specifically designed to sound better with the grilles on, some say the opposite. Lots of audio magazine reviews comment on whether it makes a difference on a specific speaker.

I say try 'em both ways, and do what sounds best to you.
 
When I'm really in the mood to listen, I'll take the covers off. Mostly because the port rattles the fabric against the grill frame if I start to jam.

Some of my speakers make it dreadfully difficult to remove the frets. Those particular speakers frets stay on.
 
I'm stuck in the middle . . . our cat likes them on and the kids like them off.

My wife says "they don't look as nice being off"

I say I like them off
 
When I was listening to my JBL's I took them off. With my Ikon 5's I leave them on, even though the manual states they should be taken off. I think it's speaker/listener dependent.

If I take the grilles off I usually end up staring at cones and not concentrating on music. I find that with the grilles on my Ikon 5's I notice a much more holographic sound as you can't tell where the music is coming from.
 
The designer of my Harbeth's says they were designed to be listened to with the grills on. But I've seen pictures of them at shows with the grills off. I think nearly all modern speakers look better with the grills off. Can't say that about ARs or KLHs, though.
 
On. Used to be an off-while-listening guy, but changed my religion. Of course, I have speakers with speaker frames built to minimize anomalies - good enough.
 
Funny that this topic has come up. I just did this test myself and noticed that I can most certainly hear a clearer sound with the grilles off my Sansui's. What ec1st said put it in perfect perspective. And plus I think it looks great with the drivers exposed.
 
When I had Polks with that sticky stuff on the woofers I always kept the covers on. I took the covers off for years until I had kids, and there they stay until my two youngest are out of the house...
 
ESS 1B speakers- cover off. I think they just look cooler that way. :smoke:
(Pic is not of my own speakers, but identical to mine)
 

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