Should You Cover Your Speakers With Grilles?

By Kevin Gallucci

To be frank, this is a topic that has no right or wrong answer, but there are a lot of different opinions about the best configuration.  Views differ from one manufacturer to the next and from one consumer to the next, as well.  Before I offer an argument one way or another, let’s take a moment to consider what a speaker grille does.

At a fundamental level, the speaker grille protects the drivers from accidental damage or from young little poky fingers.  The latter example comes from a personal experience when my very young niece was enticed by one of my speakers’ tweeters, and decided to stick her cute little finger into it.  If you have young children, feisty pets, or a clumsy uncle who stops by a lot, I would highly recommend leaving the grilles on your speaker unless you want to have an unplanned repair.

Grilles also act as dust covers to help keep the drivers clean.  This isn’t an issue if you’re willing to regularly clean your drivers, but grilles do help reduce dust and grime from reaching the drivers.  In addition, speaker grilles, in some cases, can offer a cleaner look than exposed drivers, thus making them more décor-friendly to your living area.

The important question, though, is whether speaker grilles impact sound quality.  In the past, I know Canadian speaker manufacturer, Paradigm, has recommended keeping the grilles on because they were designed to sound their best with the grilles.  On the other hand, Danish manufacturer, Dynaudio, has recommended leaving the grilles off to achieve the best sound quality.  Both manufacturers are greatly respected in the realm of high-end speakers, and both do a lot of R&D, so I would say you can’t say either is right or wrong.  I think it ultimately comes down to your preference.

I’ve heard a lot of speakers over the years, and my preference is to leave the grilles off (as long as my nieces aren’t around!).  I believe it helps me to achieve the most revealing sound from my speakers.  To be fair, though, that’s the kind of sound I’m looking for, but that’s one of the great things about audio.  Every person is affected differently by sound, and you should always follow what sounds best to your ears.  No two ears are exactly alike, and thankfully, no two sets of speakers are alike, so try it both ways – grilles on and grilles off – and decide for yourself how you prefer to hear your music and movies.

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