Is it Ok to remove speaker grills? (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Mc]

I just got the JBL NSP1 speaker set. The box (and many ads) picture the set without the black mesh on the front of the speakers. Is it Ok to remove it? If so, how? Finally, are there any consequences to doing so?

 

[Citizen87645]

Most speaker grills come off by gently pulling them off. Some people like removing the grills to make the system look cooler and in some cases it might improve the sound. Of course there are more important factors affecting sound like placement, etc.

 

[Jack Keck]

Some hifi reviewers will comment on the sound of speakers with the grilles on vs. grilles off.

 

[Leo_P]

I have JBL N24's as surrounds in my 5.1 set-up with the grills off. They look a lot better to me.
My Axiom speakers also have their grills removed 'cause with the grills on IMHO they look HIDEOUS!

 

[John Garcia]

I leave my grilles on most of the time to keep dust off of the drivers. The other big thing is, by not seeing the drivers, it tends to keep people from touching them. Other than that, I don't think there is an end-all answer either way. If you like the way they sound/look with the grilles off, then do it. When I am doing critical listening (Paradigm Mini Monitors), I remove them, because it allows the tweeter to be heard without any damping.

 

[Zbigniew]

Yes, it is OK to remove them.

Some speakers (Paradigm studio) are designed to be used with grilles on - spatial dispersion of sound is different with this grilles on/off, and they were designed to be used with grilles.

Check manufacturer's site (or ask them) which is the case for your speakers.

_zjt

 

[John Garcia]

I have heard this many times regarding Studios, but the Monitor line uses nearly identically fabricated grilles, and I have never seen this stated for that line. The grilles have a cutout for each driver, with the tweeter's portion being a tapered "wave guide" design. They sound good when on, but I feel they sound a bit better when off. A friend of mine runs his Studios with the grilles off because they are behind doors w/ acoustically transparent mesh in his built in wall unit.

 

[Citizen87645]

Although I think my JBL Studio Series speakers look cool without their grilles, the copper color doesn't match my decor. The silver in the new incarnation of the series would match much better. Oh well.

 

[Jason Wilcox]

Ahh! He hides his studios in a cabinet?

 

[John Garcia]

Ahh! He hides his studios in a cabinet?

I know :rolleyes. It takes up the whole wall, so he has little choice.

 

[John A. Casler]

Speaker grills are like condoms. You should only put them on if she insists!!!

If you really want to feel a performance "take it all the way off".

:b

John Casler

 

[Doug_NHT]

I used to prefer to leave the grills on my NHT VT2.4s until I had a friend over one night and I had my back to my sound system and all of a sudden, I hear an increase in clarity. I turn around and here is my friend holding just one grill in his hand. Needless to say I pulled the remaining grills off including my center and 4 surrounds; all NHT VS2.4s. I would have never have guessed that it made that much difference.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Speaker grilles are for looks and/or protection (from cats, etc.). The more you don't want the speaker cones to show through, the more dense the fabric must be and the more muffling of the sound will occur.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm