Question What’s the consensus on speaker grilles on or off?

Waynester

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Probably a stupid question 🤣😂

I don’t have kids so no risk of speakers getting damaged🤦‍♂️

Speaker grilles on or off?

I’ve had them off on my system for around 6 weeks, can’t say I’ve noticed a difference today putting them on

What do all you guys do?

My Speakers are Monitor Audio Bronze 6 floorstanders and Bronze Centre
Rear surrounds are Q Acoustics 3010’s
All now have the grilles on
 

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I have the same Bx6 speakers! I leave the grilles on most the time as they look a bit 'impolite' without them. But if I'm alone and listening to music I get them off (I haven't done a blind test but the grills cannot be 100% transparent). Also, IMO they look better without the grills :)
 
They deffo look better without grilles
I’ve gotta run the whole Audyssey thing yet again tonight as I’ve moved the centre speaker up 8 inches higher 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤣
Don’t know if I’ll see a huge sonic difference
 
Very little difference/if any difference to the sonic capabilities with the grills on or off.

EQ will always sort it out regardless.

I do however keep my grills on for speakers on display and off for speakers behind my AT screen.
 
Mmm I think the TV picture looks better with the grills on.:):D :laugh::rotfl:
 
With my Ruark Sceptres, it's grilles off, as the gold coloured fixings for the drivers look fantastic IMHO. Sonically it's not going to make very much difference if it's a well designed material.
 
Being a bit of a tech head myself, I much prefer to admire my speakers without the covers. They only go on if anyone with kids visits, which these days is very rare!
 
Depends on the mood I'm in, most days and especially for TV I leave them on. Always taken off for music either multi channel or stereo. The KEF R Series do look good nude.
 
Mine stay on due to kids. However, will whip them off if in on my own and listening to music / watching a film. This is due to liking the look of naked speakers (especially with no grill fixing holes) and I think it makes a very slight difference to clarity.
 
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I keep them on for protection

I don't have the towers set up at the moment but they too look amazing both ways.
 
Grilles off for me on my bronze 5s but only because I think they look much nicer without the grilles
 
I like to have the grilles off but, as I have cats and a couple of grandchildren, leave them, when not in use, not only with grilles on, but also with the full length protective plastic covers they left the factory with. Doesn't look pretty but it's safer that way.
 
On for me with a 3 year old child. About a year ago I left the room and when I come back he'd managed to get the grill off off my centre speaker (QA 3090c so magnetic and quite weak) and pushed the dust caps in. I managed to get them back out with some strong tape, thankfully he left the soft tweeter as I don't think that would be hard to destroy. A raised voice and he hasn't went near them since.

I could probably get away with having them off now but out of sight, out of mind. He's more likely to be drawn to them if I keep them off. What is it with kids and speakers? They seem drawn to them like flies to 💩!
 
I can't tell any difference sonically but my Focal Choras look soo much better without the grills with their slate fiber drivers.
 
Grilles are left on 99% of the time, but when a few cold ones have been sunk and I'm in full music mode, they come off. They look too wonderful to not have a glimpse of them naked every once in a while ;)
 

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If the speakers are made from a natural wood veneer then I would leave the grills off, as much of the time as possible during daylight hours. Wood tends to darken when exposed to sunlight, making the wood that's protected by the grills much lighter than the rest of speaker, which makes the speakers look unsightly when the grills are removed, and substantially decreases their resale value. Eventually the wood will darken to extent that it will not change any further, such that using the grills from this point will have no notable difference in this respect.
 
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OP - you should've run a poll!

Mind you, reading the replies, I imagine it would be 90+% as grilles off.

My first pair of proper Hi-Fi speakers were Tannoy M20 Gold in 1987, and they definitely sounded better with the grilles off. So that's what I've done ever since.
 
Given my tinnitus i reckon i could leave my speaker sin the box and id not notice the difference :), well maybe not
 
M&K speakers are made for jaw-dropping sound, not for looks. That was the thrust of my explanation when my wife wanted to know why these ugly things were now dominating the largest room in the house. Removing the grills in this case really wouldn't help my cause. When we share the house with clawing, biting and curious animals, removing the grills might swing events in my wife's favour, so they're staying.
 

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