Speaker covers - Safe to leave off?

SideWinder

SideWinder

SideWinder

Consigliere
Joined
12 Jun 2004
Posts
151,030
Location
SW17
As topic..is it 'safe' to leave the felty mesh covers off my B&W 685s? Also is it possible that the big bass bit is touching the cover when i play very heavy bass music?

Thanks. :o
 
:p

So doesn't matter about dust or whatever..i mean they can be dusted or whatever? Does it improve the sound quaility to have the covers off? Silly questions but i have to learn..
 
depends how you like the sound. you'll probably find that the covers filter out some of the harshness in the treble, for example
 
Depends on the covers too.... i.e. my JMLab floorstanders have metal meshes that make zero difference.

FWIW I leave the covers on just in case my dog gets a bit too rowdy near them when he's being silly...

If you have pets (esp. cats) I seriously suggest leaving them on.

Dust-wise makes no real difference IME
 
I take mine off, purely for visual reasons..

I haven't noticed any difference to the sound with my particular covers :)
 
Ive got both of mine off because it looks cool :D and because when we were burgled the cheeky ***** snapped one cover off and took it with them
 
I've named mine...

Left: Charlotte
Right: Jennifer.


"No Charlotte, YOU have the bigger bass..."

I'm gonna go back to my report now which is due in at midday. :(
 
Well to answer the question, NO it is not safe. Nothing is safe these days of the perils surrounding us, unless you wear a 'Full Body Condom'. Give yourself protection, give yourself a CHANCE !!!!!!

Well there is always the risk that something you do, or someone else might do will injure your beloved speakers, £50 or £50k. Push in a dome tweeter, smother it in marmite, or take a stanley to the bass drivers.

I always leave mine on now, plus my latest ones are mostly mdf. SOLID ~!~
 
I find that when I take the grilles off my speakers, that treble is more sharper. Like someone said earlier in this thread, if you prefer a sharper/harsher treble, then take off the grille. I do find that taking off the grille creates a dust problem.
 
I leave mine on purely because a) it looks nicer (I don't want them standing out!), and b) I don't want little hands pushing in tweeter domes! :eek:

 
Last edited:
Kids + Speakers without covers = Bad and expensive as I found out to my expense a few years ago but if you havnt got kids and are unlikely to have kids visit you should be OK but for some reason kids always want to push the cones in :(
 
Beansprout said:
Only thing you gotta watch out for is walking into them in the middle of the night if you leave the covers off :o
Click to expand...

You're the guy who drunkenly stumbled and destroyed yourself/your hifi aren't you? :D

Leave the covers off OP, they'll sound a little better if you do. Just put them back on if you have kids in the room.
 
danza said:
You're the guy who drunkenly stumbled and destroyed yourself/your hifi aren't you? :D

Leave the covers off OP, they'll sound a little better if you do. Just put them back on if you have kids in the room.
Click to expand...

Betcha if you were taken into your room blindfolded, and listened to your speakers you would not be able to tell if the covers were on or off...
 
NeilFawcett said:
Betcha if you were taken into your room blindfolded, and listened to your speakers you would not be able to tell if the covers were on or off...
Click to expand...

I betcha you're correct!

Try this:

Remove the grille from one speaker. Stand close to the speaker with your ear ~18" from the tweeter whilst music is playing. Hold the grille in front of the tweeter and remove it. You may hear a difference depending on the grille material.

I had a pair of Totem Rokks that were muffled slightly with the grille in place compared to without. My current Tannoy R3's aren't so obviously different though.

But yes you're correct, I could never tell just by blind listening. It can/does make a difference though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom