My daughter wants to know,,,,,,,,

ladyg11 · 07-22-2008, 11:17 PM

and now so do I out of curiosity:
She was watching me browse through home theater photos as I usually do, and we got into a conversation about ugly speakers. We both agree that if anything would earn the title "ugly' in an HT, more than likely it would be speakers - not saying that they all are because IMHO there are some very attractive speakers out there. Eventually she was asking is there any grill cloth that is more colorful, attractive, etc., or can you paint grill cloth. I couldn't provide an answer. "Ask them forum folks then!" So can anybody chime in?

troy evans · 07-22-2008, 11:32 PM

I suppose it's possible to find cloth to replace what's currently on your speakers in any color to fit any decor. You can also paint the speakers housing, but, I would not paint the grill cloth or anything besides the top, bottom and sides. That should help soften their visual impact in a room. I would suggest against sitting anything on the speakers in the way of decor such as, plants, pictures, collectibles, etc.

JohnRice · 07-23-2008, 10:05 AM

There are many attractive speakers, but in the sense of HT "attractive" never includes colors. The main issue is that attractive equals expensive. Think of it this way, you are essentially combining fine furnishings, which are expensive, with high quality audio, which is even more expensive. Attractive speakers typically mean black grills and well done wood veneer enclosures.

chuckg · 07-23-2008, 10:21 AM

First, a guy question: Why are the speakers ugly? Or, more correctly, what is it that makes a speaker ugly? I find them to be tasteful and discrete when done with simple fabric and a wood enclosure.

However, if you want to "girly" it up, and I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, then I think you could find fabrics and make grill cloth to suit your taste.

The fabric must be a very open weave, and not too thick. Take the grill cloth from a speaker to the fabric store and see what is similar in weight and openness, and go crazy with the color and pattern. Paint would fill in the holes, and prevent the sound from getting through. I doubt that you can stain real grill cloth fabric, since it is essentially plastic.

For the cabinet, you can put on any vinyl sticky stuff (think shelf liner). Most of the "wood" is actually vinyl stickers anyway. You can put on anything that you like, but you should not cover any part of the speaker, and don't get too close to the tweeters. Fabrics would be fine, but you should not cover too much of the face of the cabinet as it might alter the sound. If the speakers are el cheapos, then who cares about altering the sound, though.

If you do it, we want to see pictures! Most of us guys like the way speakers look, and it would be instructive for us too see what the ladies like. Maybe some speaker companies will take up the idea??

Walter Kittel · 07-23-2008, 10:41 AM

Mike Knapp did some interesting things with some of his speakers in terms of unconventional color / paint schemes. As I recall, these were speakers he constructed vs. modifications to existing (retail) speakers.

Sorry, I don't have any links.

- Walter.

**HTF Ads**

ladyg11 · 07-23-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

First, a guy question: Why are the speakers ugly? Or, more correctly, what is it that makes a speaker ugly? I find them to be tasteful and discrete when done with simple fabric and a wood enclosure.

It's probably just subjective anyway - obviously from my sig this is not an issue with me, (my SVSes are the gray ones - very plain) but chatting with my daughter made me wonder about the possibilities. And there's these http://www.axiomaudio.com/images/wof/wolo.jpg. I have no idea how the guy did it nor anyway to contact him about it. I don't particularly like the ones in the pix but I still wonder he did.

Quote:

If you do it, we want to see pictures!

Yeah,,,,that would be cool if I could pull of something,,,but not in the near future - I'm way too busy right now.

Quote:

Most of us guys like the way speakers look, and it would be instructive for us too see what the ladies like

Yep,,it's all about DNA LOL,,,,like speakers with grills off -doesn't appeal to me at all. I tried it - lasted about 10 minutes - yep strictly DNA!!!

Quote:

Maybe some speaker companies will take up the idea??

Now there's an idea - doesn't have to be all girly either - I could see my son-in-law with Minn Vikings logos on his grills.

Actually I'm cool with the way my speakers look, but I've seen some that just looked too strange. Fancy grills wouldn't even help.

Quote:

Attractive speakers typically mean black grills and well done wood veneer enclosures.

All grills aren't black - my grills are gray just like the enclosure and they look fine to me. I suppose black grills would be a nice look now that I think about it. I've often wondered why SVS didn't offer that option with the SBS/SCS line - a black, white, or gray grill,,,hmm.

But again, what's considered attractive is subjective.

chuckg · 07-24-2008, 09:33 AM

Well, I can't find a picture of them anymore, but Empire used to build an unusual set of speakers. They were 8 or 10 sided endtables with marble tops. They fetch a price in the thousands these days. I know where there is a pair not far from me....at lest they were there last year!

The idea of making the speakers less of a calm wooden box is intriguing.

gene c · 07-24-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

We both agree that if anything would earn the title "ugly' in an HT, more than likely it would be speakers -

This is a common occurence when guys are asking for speaker recommendations. "The WAF (wife acceptance factor) must be high". This usually means small and un-obtrusive. We usually tell him to forget the WAF and order something large and ugly

, but wonderful sounding. Anyway, I like the way my Swans look, but not every does so looks are a personal thing.

Boston Acoustics recently released these speakers that are available in different colors in an attempt to address the looks issue. But as looks go, they're not my cup a tea.

As I recall, you can special order Ascend Acoustics speakers in any color you want. They will use automotive grade paint, but at a substantial extra cost. Or you can order the cabinets un-finished and paint/stain them yourself. But in my opinion, the better a speaker sounds, the better it seems to look. No matter how ugly it really is

.

Al.Anderson · 07-25-2008, 07:23 AM

I don't have any direct knowledge on this subject, so I may just be propagating a myth - but I remember reading years ago that speaker grill coverings DO affect acoustics, and that good speaker companies account for that when designing their speakers and coverings.

There is also such a thing as "speaker cloth", which may only be playing into the myth, but there it is.

Unles you're significantly changing the mass or flexibility of the cabinet, I wouldn't think that would have any effect.

So if you consider yourself an audiophile you may need to dig some more; if you're playing mp3's, re-upholster away!