Why do people paint speakers

[Twitch9]

I keep seeing more and more people painting their speakers, i don't understand why, don't they know this will change the dynamics of the speaker and alter the sound from the manufactures designs. The only reason i can see doing this would be an old crappy set that your using for a bedroom or second HT setup. If people would read the manual, most speaker manufactures state that even a small amount of water or cleaning chemical can damage the speakers sound, instead of painting them why not go to your local fabric shop and pick up some speaker cloth and wrap the speakers, when you put layers upon layers of paint and clear coat you have just changed everything about the speakers dynamics, and the resonance of the speakers cabinet.

If your still thinking of painting them, consider selling them and buy the speakers your really want in the color you want.

[kareface]

If you make your own speakers painting them is actually a good solution. Bare wood or MDF is a bad surface for sound. Painting or finishing them in most cases will improve the acoustics. As for painting or refinishing store bought speakers, I don't know what to say about that. You can get away with painting most subs tho, as the surface of the speakers matters much less with longer wave lengths.

[ShockWave]

Sentinel,

What type of black paint did you use to paint your speakers? Oil Enamel?

[curse]

Originally Posted by sentinel41

If you make your own speakers painting them is actually a good solution. Bare wood or MDF is a bad surface for sound. Painting or finishing them in most cases will improve the acoustics. As for painting or refinishing store bought speakers, I don't know what to say about that. You can get away with painting most subs tho, as the surface of the speakers matters much less with longer wave lengths.

your speakers, sir, ... are beautiful.

[CasualKiller]

The finish of paint on your speakers can have a heavy effect on your audio. Lighter finishes like Cherry and Rosewood are known to let the audio-nano particles flow better while darker colors like black and navy blue will diffuse high frequency audio-nano particles leaving your audio streams stretched and saggy.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

The finish of paint on your speakers can have a heavy effect on your audio. Lighter finishes like Cherry and Rosewood are known to let the audio-nano particles flow better while darker colors like black and navy blue will diffuse high frequency audio-nano particles leaving your audio streams stretched and saggy.

I hate it when they get stretched and saggy.

[jomari]

i think its a matter of preference, more or less aesthetic reasons in general.

aside from that, from a DIY's point of view, as indicated earlier, it does help essentially, but my reasoning would be towards reinforcing the structure of the cabinet, not as great as braces are on the inside, but with almost the same concept.

[MADNOD]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

The finish of paint on your speakers can have a heavy effect on your audio. Lighter finishes like Cherry and Rosewood are known to let the audio-nano particles flow better while darker colors like black and navy blue will diffuse high frequency audio-nano particles leaving your audio streams stretched and saggy.

nice approach , wonder how pink speakers will sound .

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

The finish of paint on your speakers can have a heavy effect on your audio. Lighter finishes like Cherry and Rosewood are known to let the audio-nano particles flow better while darker colors like black and navy blue will diffuse high frequency audio-nano particles leaving your audio streams stretched and saggy.

Aren't you the same guy who argues against lossless audio carrying an appreciable difference? I have no opinion (though my gut tells me this is bunk) but I just found it interesting seeing your name pop up with this opinion.

*edit* ROFL, my sarcasm meter is broken. I'll leave the post cuz well, it's funny.

[Steve]

I wasn't even aware of the concept that painting your speakers could change their sound.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Twitch9

I keep seeing more and more people painting their speakers, i don't understand why, don't they know this will change the dynamics of the speaker and alter the sound from the manufactures designs. The only reason i can see doing this would be an old crappy set that your using for a bedroom or second HT setup. If people would read the manual, most speaker manufactures state that even a small amount of water or cleaning chemical can damage the speakers sound, instead of painting them why not go to your local fabric shop and pick up some speaker cloth and wrap the speakers, when you put layers upon layers of paint and clear coat you have just changed everything about the speakers dynamics, and the resonance of the speakers cabinet.

If your still thinking of painting them, consider selling them and buy the speakers your really want in the color you want.

That depends Twitch, older speakers are often designed to be painted without affecting the sound. Audio Note offers its speakers in many flavors - from unfinished bare russian birch, to exotic finishes with layers upon layers of clear coat. Klipsch also did this with their Heritage speakers. Now speakers of newer designs such as Paradims, the newer B&W's, well almost any modern speaker painting may be a bad ideal. Salk sound does offer customised painting for their speakers. My speakers are painted and are dynamic as all get out

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

I hate it when they get stretched and saggy.

LOU-ROC!!!
you always give me a good laugh

[Riff Magnum]

So painting the speakers changes the sound, but wrapping them in cloth doesn't?

[rded]

It's a good thing this thread has been started! I have been flirting with the idea of having my center channel restained/refinished to blue to better match my Blue sapphires or black so it'll fade into the foreground. I have actually contacted Dynaudio regarding this matter and they recommended Weber Furniture here in Chicago. They said that this company has done custom finishes for their other clientel's speakers and did not alter the sound.

I'll decide which way to go once I get my new fronts.

[rded]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

So painting the speakers changes the sound, but wrapping them in cloth doesn't?

Where did you hear about this? Are you referring to the grilles? I think it;s pretty common knowledge that having grills on or off alters the sonic chracteristics of the speakers and it depends on the manufacturer whether they recommenen that they stay on or left off.

[john_1958]

paint speakers ? :weird:

[kareface]

Originally Posted by ShockWave

Sentinel,

What type of black paint did you use to paint your speakers? Oil Enamel?

I used a resistant catalyzing varnish with a 45% solids formula. I've seen this stuff used for piano refinishes and it works great. I was actually talking with the owner of one of the top local paint stores and he also happens to be a audiophile. He loves this stuff for speakers, it doesn't require too many layers and provides a really good finish for acoustics.

Originally Posted by curse

your speakers, sir, ... are beautiful.

Thank you

I'm not even done with them. At the end if Feb, once the paint has cured I'm going to be polishing out the paint job to get a piano finish. Something that is clear enough to use as a mirror. I also need to get the feet for them as well, but that'll be a little sooner if all goes well.

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

The finish of paint on your speakers can have a heavy effect on your audio. Lighter finishes like Cherry and Rosewood are known to let the audio-nano particles flow better while darker colors like black and navy blue will diffuse high frequency audio-nano particles leaving your audio streams stretched and saggy.

I'm a physics man and I have a few issues with this. There isn't really 'audio' nanopartials, there are just nanopartials and acoustic vibrations. Second I've never heard anything in the whole of QED that suggests that surfaces that absorb specific EM wave lengths over another are more likely to diffuse vibrational energy at specific acoustic wave lengths. The only thing that would account for something like that would be a change in the structure of the surface. Also, the surface of most woods is coated in some clear coat polyurethane or one of the other 50 clear coat products out there. Assuming you don't have a single thin coat and never sanded then the structure of the surface will be determined by the clear coat. What wood, or what color the wood is below the surface will only matter for EM spectrum.

If you are talking about resonance frequencies of different materials, which would make a lot more sense, then one could argue that different woods resonate at different frequencies and some are less desirable for acoustics. However, MDF being a composite material is much better for resonance then any soft woods tend to be. Hardwood can be good depending on their resonance, there are some that are very good for warm acoustics. However it's been established that surfaces that are smooth are good for transparency at most ranges, as the surface offers little resistance to the transmission of energy. This can be good or bad, if your speaker surfaces were designed to diffract at specific frequency ranges to provide a warmer distortion. You'll take a bit of the warmth from the speakers by changing the structure of the surface. However in 99% of the cases, as long as the surface is well polished it shouldn't be any different then the classic plastic or pre-finished surfaces that you commonly see on speakers.

However, I more then open to be proven wrong. You've seem to have read something I've never heard of before. If you have some peer reviewed articles I could take a look at I would love to see what you mean.

[ShockWave]

Originally Posted by sentinel41

I used a resistant catalyzing varnish with a 45% solids formula. I've seen this stuff used for piano refinishes and it works great. I was actually talking with the owner of one of the top local paint stores and he also happens to be a audiophile. He loves this stuff for speakers, it doesn't require too many layers and provides a really good finish for acoustics.

What tip size did you use? You use a airless spray or HVLP? I have a graco 395 and was hoping that's all I needed. My wife wants to repaint our cabinets and was wondering what tips you can provide. You can PM if you like.

[kareface]

Originally Posted by ShockWave

What tip size did you use? You use a airless spray or HVLP? I have a graco 395 and was hoping that's all I needed. My wife wants to repaint our cabinets and was wondering what tips you can provide. You can PM if you like.

Tip 2-11 tip on the primer using a normal paint gun and a fine finish tip on the HVLP for the paint. I suggest using a HVLP with a hopper built into the gun because this stuff is thick and you don't want to destroy anything. There was a problem with cleaning out the paint gun after the primer. There was a plan to use the HVLP on the finish anyways, but I think using it for both would of been good. You can use the paint gun for both, but make sure you clean it out with a lot of lacquer thinner if you use the paint and primer I suggest in my gallery. Paint thinner caused the primer to turn to gravel and clog up everything. Took a while to clean out.

I did 2 layers of primer, sanded with 400p. 2 layers of paint, sanded with 600p. 1 final coat, and I have to wait a couple months before I can begin the sanding and polishing for the finish. I plan to sand with the 2000p and use the cutting fluid to polish out the scratches left by the sanding, then polish it with a nice car polish. If you use a different paint then I suggested you'll need to use many more coats. This stuff is nice because you can get away with just a few coats and you don't need a clear coat unless you want to add depth.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by rded

Where did you hear about this? Are you referring to the grilles? I think it;s pretty common knowledge that having grills on or off alters the sonic chracteristics of the speakers and it depends on the manufacturer whether they recommenen that they stay on or left off.

I heard about it in the OP. It's kinda what the thread is about.