Here is question I was asked the other day. How much listening improvement is gained from removing the speaker grilles? Do manufactures assume you will listen will the grilles off and supply them only for looks and keeping dust off while not listening? Thanks
paradigm is one company that I can think of that recommends listening with the grills on. Like newbee said, that is how they are design. Most other companies recommend removing the grills during listening.
I think all speaker sound better with grills off. Theil is another that says they designed with the grills in place. I think it is a sales pitch. It's like "hey we build such a great speaker and design such a great cabinet that our speakers sound better through fabric"?? Take 'em off, take 'em all off!
I was told by my dealer that JM Lab voices all its speakers for use with the grill on. In practice though, when I took the grills off, the sound opened up, detail improved, and the soundstage widened by about 6 feet! So I don't buy that claim.
I think manufacturers say these things so that people evaluate a product's aesthetics with the grill on rather than with the grill off. Most non-audiophiles prefer looking at grills rather than drivers. The WAF factor, maybe.
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