Speaker grills; Friend or Foe?

HEINEY_9
HEINEY_9 Posts: 18
edited June 2004 in Speakers
Kicking back watching the Cubs on the tele while I listen to some music. It occured to me that it had been a long time since I listened to my RTA-11t's w/o the speaker grills on.

I have been noticing a trend of reviewer's doing critical listening with the grills on and then off. So I thought what a great place to bring this idea up and discuss.

I am especially interested in what other RTA-11t owners have to say. But I'd like others to chime in also.

Do you hear a difference? And if you do, what is the diff? and is it better or worse?

I will say that the brightness of the RTA-11t's gets much brighter and this is not a particularly good thing. The siblance is exagerated and vocals are unaturally forward. The imaging isn't affected at all as far as I can tell, but the speakers just sound better with the grills left on. Of course I'll still be testing this theory for a few days with different source material, but I'm thinking the grills will stay on after the listening test.

Looking forward to some feedback

Peace

Brock
ADCOM GFA-545 AMP
NAK CA-5 PRE-AMP
NAK MB2S CD
ADCOM GDA-700 DAC
POLK RTA-11T
MONSTER CABLE INTERCONNECTS

2 CHANNEL AND STILL LOVING IT!!!
Post edited by HEINEY_9 on
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Comments

  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,623
    edited June 2004
    It's going to vary depending on the cloth material density if there is going to be a sound difference. Some will say that their grill does tame the tweeter down, but that's not inherant to all models either.

    Personally, I like them off because I like to see the drivers. If I was to upgrade to something like the RTi12's, those speakers would be sittin naked 24/7.
    comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
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  • gmorris
    gmorris Posts: 1,179
    edited June 2004
    From the minute I pulled my RTi70's out of the box, the grills were removed. I've never listened to them with the grills on.

    That is a good idea. I'll put them on for a couple of days and see what happens.....
    Bob Mayo, on the keyboards. Bob Mayo.
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited June 2004
    The only time I pulled the grilles off the RTA 11t's was to tighten the screws holding the drivers into the front baffle. Too hot with the grilles off.

    Two minutes of listening to the Carver Amazing's when they finally arrived highlighted how hot they sounded with the grilles on as well (the RTA 11t's). I also had a pair of 11TL's and it was just as hot.

    If it seems hot to my ears (52 yrs old and driving around on turbojets/fans for the last 28 yrs), it should melt normal ears.

    As for other speakers, some on, some off.

    George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited June 2004
    The brightness you are hearing in the 11t's isn't grill related.

    It's those SL2000 tweeters. They have almost a +5db spike in their repsonse right around 12-13Khz.

    Do yourself a HUGE favor, sell the SL2000's, and buy the new silk dome replacements from Polk. You'll see what those speakers are REALLY capable of.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • HEINEY_9
    HEINEY_9 Posts: 18
    edited June 2004
    Oh yes Russ i realize that. My point is it's even more evident w/the grilles off. I'm getting the new tweets very soon. Believe me I've lived with the frequency spike for many years.

    Peace

    Brock
    ADCOM GFA-545 AMP
    NAK CA-5 PRE-AMP
    NAK MB2S CD
    ADCOM GDA-700 DAC
    POLK RTA-11T
    MONSTER CABLE INTERCONNECTS

    2 CHANNEL AND STILL LOVING IT!!!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited June 2004
    Do a simple blind test and decide for yourself which way you prefer the sound. Kneel at ear/tweeter level about 1 meter from the speaker, close your eyes and have your better half move the grill in front of the speaker, and then remove it without telling you when its been plced between you and the speaker. See if you can detect its presence, and wether or not you like the result.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • Mike682
    Mike682 Posts: 2,074
    edited June 2004
    After I caught our cat using them as a scratch post, I took them off.

    Now that the cat is downstairs (system is on second floor) I have them back on, but I don't really hear a difference in the sound.
    Receiver: harmankardon AVR235
    Mains: polk R30
    Center: polk CSi3
    Rear Surrounds: polk R20
    Subwoofer: polk PSW404
    DVD: Panasonic DVD-S29
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  • kureboy99
    kureboy99 Posts: 53
    edited June 2004
    The difference is very minimal for me...plus since my room gets uber-dusty, I leave them on...
    ...See the Music, Feel the Music, Be the Music...
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,774
    edited June 2004
    On...no difference

    Plus -- I have an older sister that seems to not be able to control herself with messing things up -- so I leave them on to stop her from being tempted to push on things...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Terrax
    Terrax Posts: 483
    edited June 2004
    Grilles on speakers is like clothes on a beautiful girl, better with them off!:p :D;)
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