Only you could make me watch a 10 min video about this question.

My wife thinks i am having an affair when the grill is off

I have the SVS Ultra bookshelves in Gloss white and I love the grills off because the black/White transition looks amazing

Lost a few friends because of their unruly kids who don't know well enough to leave the speakers alone with them not doing anything about it. Permissive parents who are oblivious to the way their kids behave especially at a guest's house is the worst. Vincent in Pulp Fiction should've said.. "You don't f@&k with another man's automobile...or speakers." Those two things would irk me the most.

When everybody seems to be obsessed with the idea of speakers disappearing in the room I don't get why you would want to see the drivers like Gene seems to. Personally I would be very happy if the speakers were truly invisible and then the soundstage would not be affected by the visual impact of the sound source.

Your cat is so well behaved during this video!

I always take the grills off because I really like to hear the high frequencies.

Depends on the speakers, for me. Most of my speakers I prefer the grills off. There are one or two, however, that need the grills to tone down the brightness...perhaps those were designed with the grills-on in mind.

Great and informative post. In my rigs, the 2 channel systems, the grills are off. In the HT rig, on. Its speaker packaged consist of speaker in which the treble is a tad too bright, the grills tame their hardness quite a bit.

Grills on for dust and everyday use. Grills off for special occasions, and wanting to hear another characteristic of the speaker. Usually, the highs and mids are more pronounced in most cases.

Great episode. Happy to see the efforts to bring enjoyment to the videos.

I liked the intro! I like how people adapt those lines to the subject they're going to talk about. Good job and good video. I found the info interesting and useful. Thanks. I don't have any kids in the house but I keep the grills/socks on anyways. For me, there isn't enough difference in sound quality to give up the clean lines.

I am using the JBL studio 590 and the grilles are always on because cover only the mid and bass drivers, the compression driver for high frequencies is always exposed but recessed in the horn and is a good compromise for me.

If you play a track with the grilles on then take the grilles off and play the same track you'll think meh, there's not much difference. It's when you play the track and get someone else to remove the grilles mid track that you'll really notice the difference. I'll never have the grilles on again :-)

Depends on the grille. If it’s made out of cloth, it dampens the overall sound a little bit. If it’s made out of steel, it’s less pronounced. It’s the same with popper stoppers for microphones. Cloth dampens, and steel lets more high frequencies through.

Thank you for this review. Appreciate it. Quick question, have you ever heard of Totem acoustic speakers? What are your general impressions on their speakers?

But really good info thanks for answering questions I’m sure tons of people were thinking

Love looking at those cerametalic coppers drivers

Supplementary question on this / what brand of speaker grille fabric would you recommend if I needed to make my own grilles?

Hey Gene I’m running Polk RTI12’s as my mains,CS1000P center, RT2000P’s side surrounds, RT3000P’s as back surrounds, the grills are off when I’m home but on when I’m not home... when the grills are off compered to on, there is a slight difference in sound.... Love your videos to!!!!

Would love to know the views on the metal grills that M&K used. Like the lcr750s I use. Thanks keep up the great work.

I have Dahlquist DQ-10's and I'm assuming to keep the grill cover on those?

What about the possibility of grill vibration/rattling at higher volumes with some speaker models? Didn't hear this being mentioned as a downside.

One of the best topics, and the way it was presented, ever. I mostly keep my grills on my pair of Forum Model 83 3-way bass reflex speakers, 90bB SPL, on; purchased at the end of 1987, they are a large pair of book shelf loudspeakers, made in Canada, that are now on low plastic step stools. I intend on making a pair of speaker stands. However, I am going to remove the grills, and hear what the sound, and how good the music gets from vinyl records played on a vintage harmon kardon T25 belt drive turntable, 1980s, with an Audio Technica cartridge I recently bought on eBay.

I'm running 5 Definitive Tech Mythos 2's, and a Emotiva Ultra Sub 12. The Emotiva Sub Grille is fine. The Mythos Speakers have a Plastic Cross Hatch under the whole grille. Would that be an issue?

Hello Gene, Are ELAC FS 58.2 and ELAC CC51 decent speakers for the first-ever HT setup to start with? This is an old model and was released in around 2005.

On, mostly because of neighbour kids, one time while I was watching a movie they decided to turn off the switch to my projector.. What about AT screens? I need a new screen, but I dont know if I should buy regular or AT screen.. only the center would go behind the screen, is 1,5 DB loss due to at screen noticeable or easy to correct?

You mentioned “beaming.” My JBL 590s have this characteristic at family loud levels and actually somewhat painful to hear and I cut the treble way back to compensate. . What causes this.

I have a Klipsch Synergy 7.1 setup with F3 being my main speakers. Most of the time I leave the grills on but they do look better when they are off.

Great tips Gene! I don't notice any audible difference with my Klipsch 5.1 setup so I keep the grills on. Most people say it's sacrilege to cover those copper cones but my cats rub on them and they also help with dust. Also those clips sneaking the grills on/off are priceless! 🤣

When not listening, the grills are always on the Altec Lansing Model 14 and the Celestion Ditton 66 Series 2. But when I sit down to enjoy Led Zeppelin or Madame Butterfly with Maria Callas, the grills are off. The Altec grill frames are 1.5 in. thick so lots of diffraction occuring. The positionning of the speakers, specially in room corners, is time consuming but you get a balanced bass from your main speakers. Surround speakers are not under the same setup constraints so the positioning is most of the time faster achieved. Thanks and take care.

do metal grills on the drivers negatively affect sound? as in monitor type speakers....

Have 4 Polk Audio TSI500's, been running then covered which they sound amazing. But I've been thinking of running them Naked to see if there's a difference in sound.

I have question Gene..... How and what is used to clean the speaker cones?

I've got the Klipsch thx ultra 2 surround system, and I keep the grills on even though they have some really good looking horns in them. My center channel has some dents in the driver from being packed badly and holes in the grill fabric from moths finding them in the garage when they were in storage at my dad's for 8 years. It's super annoying because my brother who put them away horribly had no idea what they where worth.

A very intersting topic I would like to say

Before i noticed that you had a video of this i read up on you forum about it & find both very interesting .. because before i came here to find out i tried my Monitor Audio monitor 9s without for the 1st time & i think!! i could tell a slight difference in the sound.. but that is me.. but i will try again with other records i have soon..

THANKS GREAT REVIEW

With the Kef Q300 speakers the soundstage is much wider without the grilles, especially in near field listening. The plastic frame of the grilles blocks the dispersion of the sound. Studio monitors are always without grilles.

How about a video of an A/B test of using Audessey vs. REW on a couple year old pre-pro to see if REW has that much of an edge, with or without grills, your choice?

The grille on my Martin Logan motion 40 with the logo looks amazing when is on.

I used to own JBL LX60s loved them but love my Mordaunt Short 817s more with grills on or off they sound brilliant. I collect film scores on cd and everything l play through the MS817s sound phenomenal.

My old Design Acoustic PS10 had a piece of felt the shape off the tweeter under the silk dome so you couldn't push em in.

Even cloth grills won't protect the drivers from a strong poke. That's why we put metal grills on our higher RSL models. They protect the speakers better and don't seem to have the loss of cloth grills and their thicker frames. In my HT system in my den, the grills are on and it sounds fine. Totally agree with Gene about speaker placement.

I use Goldenear technology speakers. For my front three speakers the grills are not removable. But for my surrounds I use the Goldenear super sats and I have those grills off. But I do like the look of speakers with no grills.

THIS IS WHY I SUBSCRIBE. Gene getting into the meat and potatoes of audioholics. Asking the HARD QUESTIONS. Ty. Appreciate.

I have always run my speakers with the grills off. I have some Infinity Kappa 9's, they sound fantastic, and as you say, looking at all those drivers, just mentally seems to make them sound better.

Here's a idea for a video and questions I've wondered. You mention late in the video acustical material and treatments you have wrapped around the room. How about a detailed video covering each of those treatments.What they are and there purpose. What's used on each wall and ceiling and why? Who makes your acoutic cloud?, for example.Lastly, something I never really find talked about Gene, is what about sound dampining or sound proofing sound outside of the theater? You like me seem to have an upstairs home theater. So how do you treat the sound that can disturb people in the rest of the house, other side of wall, or neighbors if you like them? There are many options and some pretty expensive that help very little like mass vinyl. None serm to talk about sound proofing windows in your theater or shared heating and cooling vents....where there is a whole sound can escape. Most people dont want or can remove there windows and they can be a big weak spot in the most sound proofed of wall designs. As for this vid grills off if you got Gene's fronts and I'd say your side surrounds too Gene, those speaker drivers look stunning. And you don't see surrounds in an mtm these days, last I remember were def tech bpvx/p's which I also I think the only surround to offer a powered set of bass drivers. Your rbh sides are as close to those ive seen but I think they are a little too expensive compared to others.

Great topic 👍 Gene . Audioholics rock!!!!

Grills On for me Klipsch Rp600m + Rp504c, i know they have beautiful looking speakers, but I bought them for the sound not visual, I find the Klipsch kind of distracting when watching movies or listening to music, also with them been horn speakers I don't mind having a slight diffraction going on just to tame the highs slightly.

On for me, the cleaner looks suits my set up (lounge/theatre)

Have you made a video about speakers placement?....and how to deal this ideal placement with real life in a living room?

i keep the subwoofers grill off because you don't see subs with grills or covered in cloth very often .as for other woofers cones and tweeters if it sounds too bright paint the cloth or get a thicker one.if it sounds too dark thats when you know to rock it with the grill off or go with a thinner cloth.

Thanks for all the great videos! What about scrim clothes? I have in wall and in ceiling Sonance speakers. I removed and thought the speakers sounded better, but the owners manual specifically says to keep them in place or replace after painting grills. Any thought? Thx!!

I have canton ergos they have metal grills . They definitely add protection but I don’t think they are as transparent as they claim .

I have JBL ti10k, even though I didn't make an on /off comparison, but I keep them on all the time. The grill is a very thin frame heavy-duty metal material.

I'm going both ways with my Klipsch speakers. I have a pair of RP-8000FS for dedicated music that have the grills off and a pair of RP-6000F'S, RP-600c and my surrounds with the grills on.

Im not a grill fan either but having a cat I had to replace two drivers on my system audio towers . I do like the grills off for attraction and sound when listening to serious 2ch music. Good video

I have the original Paradigm Signature 2, and the grilles stay on because it is designed that way. It sounds better. In the family room, we have a pair of PSB Stratus Minis. I think they sound better with the grilles on. I used to have the old Kef 104 speakers (later put the 104aB crossovers on) and they definitely sounded better with the grilles on, because the box had a ridge going around the front of the speakers and the foam grille damped that down. It was much clearer that way. Maybe some rockers prefer the grilles off, but the old Kef 104 was not really a rocker speaker.

Gene I love the way you move to take the grill off and then put it back on hilarious! It's like you're a little mischievous Goblin or something :-) I have Canton vento 890.2 Tower speakers, it seems there's a slight difference in sound with the grills off so when the kids aren't around I take them off otherwise I have a five-year-old and a two-year-old and all the speakers in my house have the grills on when not I'm not listening. I especially take the grills off of my Anthony Gallo CL - 4 towers that have a metal Grill. I don't know how in the hell there can be good for the sound.

I recently bought 2 Cerwin-Vega E-715 speakers. They are in mint condition but my only issue is the cover, it rattles bad with the bass. They are so big and the support beam is so long and skinny it rattles. I put gorilla tape on it to stop it from happening. They are the only Cerwin-Vegas that do that and we have 5 sets. The older 90s models were better made in every aspect, the e715 are the newest of my collection. Has anyone had this happen? How did you fix it?

Polk Audio Signature S60 / S35 for the fronts with grills off - Kid in College - but I worry about the two cats.

cool thing on grills is that they absorb some reflected light from the projector. Otherwise,drivers could reflect that light towards the viewer, what breaks the immersion.

My rbh sound front LCR look great naked but they are also very distracting when trying to watch a movie. I usually leave the black grills on so they disappear. When I'm playing music sometimes I will take off the grills telling myself that I'm getting something a little bit better but honestly I don't think I could tell in a blind test. Grills always come off when company comes over. Somebody always notices the aluminum woofers and asks about them.

When I listen to my two channel systems I remove the grilles. After the listening session is over I put them back on. A few years ago I found one of my cats had poked her paw through one of the foam surrounds so since then the grilles stay on and the cats stay out when I'm not in the listening room. With my home theater systems speakers I just leave all the grilles on all of the time.

Should room correction be run with the grills on or off?

ATC does grilles right

Very helpful.

Just speaking for my McIntosh LS-360 and center channel, I need to keep the grills on for the best sound, the imaging changes with them off, and not for the better. I used to be a JBL fan and never noticed a sonic difference but I have always liked the grills on with all my speakers, they look too busy with all the exposed stuff under the grill. I prefer the clean lines in a room to clutter and grills off looks like added clutter to the room, I have a big LG OLED in between the speakers if I want to look at something. To each his own, but my Mac's sound better with grills on because of the frame that focuses the sound from the tweeters.

what about grill covers for subs?

On every time for me simply because it helps my brain allow the speakers to 'disappear'. If the grills are off then your brain unconsciously focuses on the speakers as the source of sound and this affects the imaging and sound stage experienced.

Also have 2 Def Tech Pro Monitor 1000's for front Heights covered.

Generally the grills are on for protection from the grandkids, but when we cue up some tunes and settle in for some good loud music they come off. I notice the difference, my wife does not... so maybe a little placebo but it's my placebo and I like it!

I want the grills off but wandering little fingers will poke things!! I like looking at the beautiful cabinet and speakers.

I had used to flat the center cone of a woofer on a 2-way tall box with my thumb when I was teenage. because i thought the woofers were broken when I clearly heard music from the twitters .. Ten years later I knew the woofers were only for the bass sound..

Grilles On but if playing really loud off to make sure you're not overpowering the drivers.

well gene, i never met a grill cloth that i liked. the diffraction caused by them and the grill frame has always been just enough to make me want the grill off. even skeptics that at first poo-poo my pronouncement, end up admitting that the difference is worth the effort to remove the grill. on the same note, tweeters INside. putting the tweeters on the inside edge rather than outside allows for better imaging by giving you an unobstructed pathway for the high/mid frequencies to your ears. this helps direct the radiation pattern of the drivers toward the listening position. its another free tweak that works. speaker experts such as the late irving (bud) fried did this intentionally for my stated reason. it's like toeing in to avoid side-wall interference such as what happens when you put a speaker like the vandersteen IIce near a side wall out of necessity. that spacey/phasey effect just goes away. again, skeptics get the picture when trying this free tweak. ...hifitommy

Looks like 6 driver poking kids saw this video. Nice video Gene as Usual. Very funny too. I was cracking up when you were sneaking up quietly to remove/place the speaker grille. I leave my grilles off for the front Left and Right Def Tech Mythos ST-L Towers and 2 front SVS PB16 Ultras. Not really for performance, but because it looks beautiful.

Love the success of the TIP movement. Would u ask sound united and other avr manufactures to make their avr OS GUI graphical user interfaces accessible for the blind and dyslexic similar to android TV", Apple, and Xbox one just to name a few examples. That would be a great help for those people that love AV kit but can't read the menus because of vision loss or reading disability.

I keep the grills on unless I am by myself really cranking it and want to watch the drivers move :) This is on my cambridge towers and center. hey Gene There is a fairly heated discussion over on the PS Audio channel about storage source affecting fidelity, specifically music on a cd compared to that same track ripped and played back from a Nas. Some people are like bits are bits, doesn't matter what type of plater they sit on, others are saying anything from the transport of packets over the network diminishes sounds to the pc will be noisier due to other components (of course a usb dac solves that) to "jitter" being an issue, and a few other crazy thoughts. Want to weigh in?

I can only hear a miniscule difference with the grilles off. My problem believe it or not, was finding a safe place to put my grilles when I have them off. It was not worth the risk of damaging them storing them somewhere therefore, Back on the they go to stay. I personally like the way they look when they're on. I am very lonely here but that's my preference.

Snell Type E Series - grills on. I believe that they are calibrated with them on.

My Klipsch KG 2.2 speakers have the most insane grill I've ever seen. A piece of sheet metal covered in cloth with about a thousand holes in the sheet metal and a open square spot in the middle for the tweeter. The area covering the woofers/ midrange is covered by at least 60% metal.

good for you man you started to put more visual stuff and mix some shots keep it up

Gen, i got svs speakers ultras bookshields, ultra center, prime elevation but those speakers looks ugly, and sub sb3000, do u recommended to take off all my speakers including the metal grill of the sub, pls ur advise

“Free the nip!” 😂😂😂😂😂 Love this shirt Gene!!!

Your speakers are works of art.... grills off for sure. The rest of us grills on are classy and understated,, no distraction for movies. Grills off for mainly two channel listening, room focal point, especially with Klipsch, I think a ton of people buy less than optimal Klipsch subs just to match the rest of their speakers...ego feeding over sound. Next topic the new Emotiva receivers are now future proof and look to be a reasonable investment and a logical move to separates. Might be my future would love to see amp comparisons and Emotiva reviews.

In my opinion Grill cloths DO affect performance, since when they are in place you can see the cloth react to the bass drive. However I am not convinced that this effect is actually audible. I have AR-3a speakers and while they sound great, they are ugly as hell with the grills removed. These were produced before the fad of leaving the grills off became a thing. I think by the 90s AR had begun to make the raw speaker display better.

Been there and in my case it was my own kid the one that did the damage to my Klipsch center channel speaker... so now its grill on 100% of the time.

Own Klipsch RF 7s can count on one hand how many times I ever took grills off or heard a difference but yeah absolutely look awesome with them off

KEF Q100, grille off and happily their Uni-Q drivers feature the tangerine waveguide over the tweeter.

To Grill or not to Grill... I’ll say the JBL looks nice with the orange grill Very retro and unique but it is those one of a kind type decoration. Depends on the spkr, I would go for better sound and then the looks. Say my Micca looks better with the grill but the AJ SF 52 looks better without but then it’s a bit more refine.

My kids used to pull the grills off and play with them. Thankfully no damage, just some close calls, and they leave them alone now. I leave them on still just to protect against stray objects when things get excitable.

I wouldn't mind if you did an episode of installing speakers in ceiling tiles like drop ceiling

Nice shirt Gene! ///MPower!

With off on my speakers, I have piano black on my speakers 🔊 nice and glossy shine and my cat decided to jump on the top of one and put a few scratches 😡 not happy .

You’re so funny, man. Thanks for making this content.

Don’t singers put a fabric mesh between the mic?

I can swear I hear a difference, it's miniscule, but it's there. I leave them on to keep the speakers from dust and for general protection and take them off only on special occasions, when I get a new vinyl album for example.

2:47 was hilarious, gosh.