What is the overall purpose for speaker grilles?

[RedIsNotBlue]

I was just thinking I have always kept the grilles on my speakers and subwoofer but what exactly is their purpose? Do they offer protection, are they just for looks, is it better to just remove them, etc, etc?

[phantompwr]

They are mostly for WAF I suspect, although it probably helps keep the dust (and poking fingers) off the speakers as well.

[RedIsNotBlue]

Yeah I figured as much that they are for protection but its not like I have kids running around and I keep my room pretty clean so just curious what the effect of removing them is.

[erict]

Originally Posted by RedIsNotBlue

Yeah I figured as much that they are for protection but its not like I have kids running around and I keep my room pretty clean so just curious what the effect of removing them is.

I think with the grills off they become more of a focal point in the room by drawing you're attention. With the grills on they blend in more so to say.

[RedIsNotBlue]

Originally Posted by erict

I think with the grills off they become more of a focal point in the room by drawing you're attention. With the grills on they blend in more so to say.

I figured that as well...lol.

[Slec]

Besides protection grilles also act as diffusers for sound coming from the speakers. They allow for better staging and imaging (with something in front of the speaker). They are supposed to be neutral to the sound. Nothing is completely neutral though IMO.

[sokrman14]

Other than protection and looks, a few speakers such as Vienna Acoustics utilize the grill to improve sound quality. They have a notch in their grill that helps to diffuse sound and radiate the sound to give better imaging.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Slec

Besides protection grilles also act as diffusers for sound coming from the speakers. They allow for better staging and imaging (with something in front of the speaker). They are supposed to be neutral to the sound. Nothing is completely neutral though IMO.

I don't know if I buy into that Slec. My speakers DIDN'T come with grilles, although they can be ordered. If grilles did indeed provide better staging and imaging I would have thought the manufacturer would have included them.

John

[Slec]

Originally Posted by John72953

I don't know if I buy into that Slec. My speakers DIDN'T come with grilles, although they can be ordered. If grilles did indeed provide better staging and imaging I would have thought the manufacturer would have included them.

John

Some companies say that they design their grilles with the speakers in mind. They alter the bracing so that it affects (slightly) the sound produced by the speakers to even out the sound across bass, midrange, and tweets.

To be honest, I don't know how much truth there is to this. I suspect there is some. I know my speakers sound better with the grilles on, but they have horns. Everything has to be taken into account upfront when the plan calls for grilles are included for protection.

[sokrman14]

Originally Posted by John72953

I don't know if I buy into that Slec. My speakers DIDN'T come with grilles, although they can be ordered. If grilles did indeed provide better staging and imaging I would have thought the manufacturer would have included them.

John

It's not for every speaker, but some manufacturers do keep in mind what the sound is like when they have the speaker grill on, and when they have them off. I know for a fact through vendor training that Vienna Acoustics designs to have their speaker grills on when you listen to their system.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Slec

Some companies say that they design their grilles with the speakers in mind. They alter the bracing so that it affects (slightly) the sound produced by the speakers to even out the sound across bass, midrange, and tweets.

To be honest, I don't know how much truth there is to this. I suspect there is some. I know my speakers sound better with the grilles on, but they have horns. Everything has to be taken into account upfront when the plan calls for grilles are included for protection.

Originally Posted by sokrman14

It's not for every speaker, but some manufacturers do keep in mind what the sound is like when they have the speaker grill on, and when they have them off. I know for a fact through vendor training that Vienna Acoustics designs to have their speaker grills on when you listen to their system.

I guess it is manufacturer dependent then, which I can buy into! For the record, I haven't and won't be ordering grilles for my Totems.

John