Grilles or No Grilles

Interestingly enough I had planned to leave the grills off as I liked the look better. I could hear a slight difference on some but not all recordings. Figured the wife would want them on so I never really planned on arguing the matter. I go to put the on and the wife stops me. Says she was playing with it after cleaning and decided she liked it better with grills off. felt it was clearer at the high end. um, OK. cool. Never mentioned it to her or anything. who'd have thunk? Now she wants me to not put my guitar behind the speaker as it sounds "funny" when I put it there. May have created a monster with good ears.

Kal, it is not a blanket statement to say that you had never heard a speaker that didn't sound better with the grills off, that is a statement about what you have heard. A blanket statement would be "all speakers sound better with the grills off". The first statement is about what you have heard personally, the second about all possible speakers.

Many manufacturers who supply grills with their speakers recommend listening with grills off, at least for "serious listening". I would venture that many feel it's a given that their customers will take them off.
Most box speakers, say 30 years ago, had recessed baffles and the grill frame and cloth would fit in to be flush with the front. Most did not have flush mounted drivers. Now, almost all speakers have at least flush mounted tweeters, flat baffles, sometimes beveled or rounded edges. Most grill frames are a compromise.
Ok, some designers spend great effort on the grill design and intend you to leave them on, but they are few.

Stanwal-

I know what you are saying but, in the context of this thread, it seems that most people are generalizing and, unfortunately, I took your statement as an example.

Of course, the original post is a little confusing as it refers first to "a more accurate listening experience" (without specifying how accuracy is determined) and, then, refers to what "works better for me" which is a matter of preference. Yet, the OP is asking "what do you think?"

What is more accurate is measurable and has been.
What is preferred may be something else, of course.

Kal

At the latest RMAF, I would say that in the neighborhood of 90 percent of the speakers there were presented with the grills off. This was irregardless of whether they came with a grill or not. There were some exceptions. I have previously owned a pair of speakers, the Intuitive Design Summit, that had grills that could not be removed and they sounded fantastic. Just because it came with a grill does not mean it must be listened to that way. At least that was the only thing I could infer based on what dealers, distributors, and designers had set up at the show. I would hope that they would know how to get the best out of their speakers. As a last comment on this, I agree that the issue of grills or no grills is a preference for the most part. If you want to know what is intended by the designer, call the manufacturer and ask how they are voiced.