Speaker covers on or off??

[Jase Fox]

Does keeping the speaker covers on dampen sound?? I find they are a tad brighter with the covers off!! Anybody else have an opinion on this? Thanks

[Weatherman]

Speaker covers are needed for several good reasons.

They disperse the sound waves (a property of any waves) making a more natural sound. Sound straight from a speaker is more unidirectional than sound being passed through a physical barrier. This is especially true for mid to high frequencies. Some speaker systems use a horn to disperse sound, however, this is not recomended for a small home theater system. The barrier acts to fill the room with sound.

Some problems arise if the covers are off. Since the waves tend to travel essentially in one direction, the chances of unwanted echoing off a wall or couch are higher. This will cause a "stadium effect". This is most notable during scenes where there is a lot of talking. Subwoofers don't need dispersion baffles or covers because of the omnidirectional nature of low frequency waves. Without covers the channels will not mend. For instance if a helicopter moves from left to right it will not be as smooth with the covers off. The left and right channels will be more noticable. Covers make for a smooth transisition for action scenes and background music.

High end home theaters have the same material (similar to the covers on your speakers) on the walls and ceiling to mitigate the problem of echoing and feedback.

If your watching a blu-ray with crappy sound what's the point!?

Hope this helps.

[Jase Fox]

Originally Posted by Weatherman

Speaker covers are needed for several good reasons.

They disperse the sound waves (a property of any waves) making a more natural sound. Sound straight from a speaker is more unidirectional than sound being passed through a physical barrier. This is especially true for mid to high frequencies. Some speaker systems use a horn to disperse sound, however, this is not recomended for a small home theater system. The barrier acts to fill the room with sound.

Some problems arise if the covers are off. Since the waves tend to travel essentially in one direction, the chances of unwanted echoing off a wall or couch are higher. This will cause a "stadium effect". This is most notable during scenes where there is a lot of talking. Subwoofers don't need dispersion baffles or covers because of the omnidirectional nature of low frequency waves. Without covers the channels will not mend. For instance if a helicopter moves from left to right it will not be as smooth with the covers off. The left and right channels will be more noticable. Covers make for a smooth transisition for action scenes and background music.

High end home theaters have the same material (similar to the covers on your speakers) on the walls and ceiling to mitigate the problem of echoing and feedback.

If your watching a blu-ray with crappy sound what's the point!?

Hope this helps.

Thanks alot weatherman!! that was a very informative explanation, i guess its covers ON from now on

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by Weatherman

They disperse the sound waves (a property of any waves) making a more natural sound. Sound straight from a speaker is more unidirectional than sound being passed through a physical barrier.

High end home theaters have the same material (similar to the covers on your speakers) on the walls and ceiling to mitigate the problem of echoing and feedback.

This is not necessarily true. Most speakers have what manufacturers call "acoustically transparent" grill cloth meaning it does not absorb, reflect, or dampen the sound coming from the speaker.

The material on the walls of a commercial theater is actually carpet. Carpet absorbs and actually traps some of the sound waves that hit it. By doing so, it dampens the room and drastically reduces reflections allowing the speaker to create directionality, not room reflections.

In short, the grills main purpose is cosmetic. It also provides a very minimal amount of protection. Try listening to the same passage with them on and off, I doubt you will notice any difference at all. If you are one of those people who think they do hear a difference, then listen the way you want, its your home theater In any case, you certainly will not gain any advantages in directionality, panning, or imaging by leaving the grills on.

[cathexist]

Unfortunately mine are off until I have a closed room for my theater that my cats can't get to.

[bigpapy]

if u have kids on

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Weatherman

Speaker covers are needed for several good reasons.

They disperse the sound waves (a property of any waves) making a more natural sound. Sound straight from a speaker is more unidirectional than sound being passed through a physical barrier. This is especially true for mid to high frequencies. Some speaker systems use a horn to disperse sound, however, this is not recomended for a small home theater system. The barrier acts to fill the room with sound.

Some problems arise if the covers are off. Since the waves tend to travel essentially in one direction, the chances of unwanted echoing off a wall or couch are higher. This will cause a "stadium effect". This is most notable during scenes where there is a lot of talking. Subwoofers don't need dispersion baffles or covers because of the omnidirectional nature of low frequency waves. Without covers the channels will not mend. For instance if a helicopter moves from left to right it will not be as smooth with the covers off. The left and right channels will be more noticable. Covers make for a smooth transisition for action scenes and background music.

High end home theaters have the same material (similar to the covers on your speakers) on the walls and ceiling to mitigate the problem of echoing and feedback.

If your watching a blu-ray with crappy sound what's the point!?

Hope this helps.

It all depends on how your speakers were engineered. Some speakers are engineered with the covers in mind - to where the covers are actually part of the speaker system sonics itself. Other speakers - such as the Audio Note AN-E's have optional speaker covers but are really meant to be played sans covers. Some speakers, the cover is just a matter of aesthetics. What sounds good to you? Hmmmm

[prerich]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

This is not necessarily true. Most speakers have what manufacturers call "acoustically transparent" grill cloth meaning it does not absorb, reflect, or dampen the sound coming from the speaker.

In any case, you certainly will not gain any advantages in directionality, panning, or imaging by leaving the grills on.

You are correct here. Panning and directional ques are not a function of the grills - proper timbre matching is the key to that. I only know of a few speaker makers that the grill actually serves a sonic function. Most speakers are tested without the grills. Most recording studios - speakers without the grills. If the OP thinks the speakers are too bright w/o the grils (because B&W's tend to have extended upper frequency response) by all means put them back on. Good post by the way!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by bigpapy

if u have kids on

This should show you a good reason to leave them on....... and a good reason to SECURE THEM TIGHTLY if you have the plastic types that are easily removed...... unfortunately the "damage" didn't come through too clearly, but it looks like a water bubble (after popped back out) but either way, this was the one in the best condition...... this has happened THREE TIMES in a 2 week period or so..... then I used sticky 3-M type tacky stuff that's used to hang posters on walls etc.... and rolled out a bead of it, placed it in the channel, and secured the covers that way..... If you have speakers with grills like this, and there are small children around, I recommend this.

This wasn't even my kid (as he just turned 6 months old... happy B-Day O!!! ) it was the Nanny's kid.... I was M-A-D.... especially after the 3rd "incident"

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...w&linkid=link2

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

This should show you a good reason to leave them on....... and a good reason to SECURE THEM TIGHTLY if you have the plastic types that are easily removed...... unfortunately the "damage" didn't come through too clearly, but it looks like a water bubble (after popped back out) but either way, this was the one in the best condition...... this has happened THREE TIMES in a 2 week period or so..... then I used sticky 3-M type tacky stuff that's used to hang posters on walls etc.... and rolled out a bead of it, placed it in the channel, and secured the covers that way..... If you have speakers with grills like this, and there are small children around, I recommend this.

This wasn't even my kid (as he just turned 6 months old... happy B-Day O!!! ) it was the Nanny's kid.... I was M-A-D.... especially after the 3rd "incident"

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...w&linkid=link2

Son of a *****!!! I bet your eyes almost dropped out of your head.

B&W weren't thinking about kids at all when they designed the tweeters like that.

I'd hate to see what kids would do around Gallo speakers!

[Beta Man]

This was the "first" and wasn't as bad..... the other two were REALLY BAD (but happened a week later, no pictures) one had a HOLE in it, because it was pushed through so hard!!!!


the 800 series only attaches the tweeter covers with magnets (which is really cool, but there is no practical way to keep kids from popping them off) so that is going to more than likely prevent me from upgrading to those ever

Walking around the local shop, I counted about 11 tweeters that were pushed in (and a few woofer-cones)

[rogman]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

This should show you a good reason to leave them on....... and a good reason to SECURE THEM TIGHTLY if you have the plastic types that are easily removed...... unfortunately the "damage" didn't come through too clearly, but it looks like a water bubble (after popped back out) but either way, this was the one in the best condition...... this has happened THREE TIMES in a 2 week period or so..... then I used sticky 3-M type tacky stuff that's used to hang posters on walls etc.... and rolled out a bead of it, placed it in the channel, and secured the covers that way..... If you have speakers with grills like this, and there are small children around, I recommend this.

This wasn't even my kid (as he just turned 6 months old... happy B-Day O!!! ) it was the Nanny's kid.... I was M-A-D.... especially after the 3rd "incident"

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...w&linkid=link2

Ouch! For anyone with kids, it's definitely ON! I have an old bottom firing front-ported JBL subwoofer. A few years ago, we were missing a bunch of cartridges from our "Leap Pad". (Anyone w/kids probably knows what this is.)

One day I noticed my 1 1/2 year old putting a pacifier into the port on the sub. I picked it up and shook it and heard things rattling around. I opened it up (by removing the cone from the bottom, and found several cartridges, two more pacifiers, several 'Little People", some Legos, and a couple of Teck Deck Dude Skateboards! We covered the whole sub w/cloth...

Most manufacturers 'voice' their speakers with the grills on. Despite the acoustically transparent cloth, sometimes removing the grills brings out the tweaters a bit more. But, I suppose you could get the same effect thru tweaking your receiver EQ.

[Beta Man]

Now I have to go check my sub in the basement when I get home! I don't need to worry about anything going into the one upstairs

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by Weatherman

Speaker covers are needed for several good reasons.

They disperse the sound waves (a property of any waves) making a more natural sound. Sound straight from a speaker is more unidirectional than sound being passed through a physical barrier. This is especially true for mid to high frequencies. Some speaker systems use a horn to disperse sound, however, this is not recomended for a small home theater system. The barrier acts to fill the room with sound.

Some problems arise if the covers are off. Since the waves tend to travel essentially in one direction, the chances of unwanted echoing off a wall or couch are higher. This will cause a "stadium effect". This is most notable during scenes where there is a lot of talking. Subwoofers don't need dispersion baffles or covers because of the omnidirectional nature of low frequency waves. Without covers the channels will not mend. For instance if a helicopter moves from left to right it will not be as smooth with the covers off. The left and right channels will be more noticable. Covers make for a smooth transisition for action scenes and background music.

High end home theaters have the same material (similar to the covers on your speakers) on the walls and ceiling to mitigate the problem of echoing and feedback.

If your watching a blu-ray with crappy sound what's the point!?

Hope this helps.

This is the best reply I have seen yet ! Thank you and WELCOME !

[fatediesel]

I know the owner of Elemental Designs and he has always had the covers off. It might matter for some speakers but Elemental Designs make no difference whether the cover is on or off.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by prerich

It all depends on how your speakers were engineered. Some speakers are engineered with the covers in mind - to where the covers are actually part of the speaker system sonics itself. Other speakers - such as the Audio Note AN-E's have optional speaker covers but are really meant to be played sans covers. Some speakers, the cover is just a matter of aesthetics. What sounds good to you? Hmmmm

This is absolutely correct. It all depends on how your speakers were engineered. A large majority of grills are there for cosmetics and protection.

[CptGreedle]

Mine have a metal mesh cover, they doubt for indoor and outdoor but I only use them indoor. They sound great for that too, but i am still looking into new speakers for a future purchase.

Still, that is very informative, how it affects the sound, but it also helps protect the speakers as well as look better (to me).
Thanks for all the great info guys.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

This is the best reply I have seen yet ! Thank you and WELCOME !

Bit of a shame its not entirely accurate...

[richteer]

Originally Posted by Woody

This is absolutely correct. It all depends on how your speakers were engineered. A large majority of grills are there for cosmetics and protection.

Right. I have no kids or pets to worry about, so I always listen without speaker grills. The only exception I would make to this rule would be if the manufacturer specifically recommends keeping the grill on.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by richteer

Bit of a shame its not entirely accurate...

+1