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Couldn't get a reply on the "tech forum" so maybe someone here might be kind enought to help


jmorgan32

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I just want to know if most of you use speaker grills or not. I do not have pets, and live alone. (my kids live with their mom.) I have new Klipsch F3s and don't have the best ears in the world, but love them.

Is dust and dirt a concern that is worth losing a litte sound by using grills"

Grills off or on? (the other forum must feel my question is beneath them since I have had 5 or 6 views and not even a yes or no. Must be a very "tight knight group" that is hard to break into. Guess I am not worthy over there.)

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Joe

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I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Unless you live in a barn, dust and dirt can't be all that much of a problem so go naked. Or not, whatever sounds or looks best to you. I would wonder, if you were blindfolded, if you could really tell the difference, so it's why I say, go with whatever makes you feel best. I did have a pair of Triangle speakers that seemed to sound better without the grills. Now I have mostly Heritage speakers so taking the grills off isn't an option.

Did you try searching the archives? I would imagine there are some old threads on the topic.

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Hey Joe, I didn't see your post in the other forum so maybe it got buried or I just missed it...

As far as speaker grills, I have tried both and could care less either way from a sonic perspective. Let's say hypothetically that the grill did make an audible difference (I think most claim a slight roll-off in the upper frequencies). Would you not expect the engineers designing the speaker to take that into account and compensate to whatever level necessary? Following that line of thought, it would should be worse to remove the grills. From what I've heard, all the engineers say that it doesn't make a difference. From a practicality standpoint, any difference that could exist would be dwarfed by issues with the room's acoustics (which by nature just suck unless you've employed some acoustical treatment or are just plain lucky).

In the end I would just recommend doing whatever you think looks best. Sometimes I take my grills off, sometimes I put them back on - it depends on the mood I'm in. One thing that sucks about removing the grills is that you gotta store them somewhere (and the plastic they're built with isn't the strongest of materials). But ultimately, I think the safety factor plays the biggest role...even with all the kids outta the house and no pets, there is still the higher risk of damage.

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Like some in here, my current horns (Belles & Altecs) have grills that do not provide the option so it is a non-issue for me. When I owned various Reference speakers (Reference 3, 7 lines), I heard slight improved clarity and top end response with the grills off, and I preferred listening to those two-ways that way. I think the upper horns of Klipsch two-ways (e.g. Reference and Synergy) benefit from running without grills, but I do not think it is a considerable difference.

So, I hold the minority opinion I guess - and would leave them off.........

Carl.

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This pic might help [:)] :

Posted Image

Very nice! I saw this pic in a previous post of yours. After getting my F-3's, I saw your speakers on the Klipsch website product page. I know yours are slightly more expensive and the drivers are obviously gold in color and mine are silver. (the materials are somewhat different from the description.) I wonder how much better yours sound (all other things being equal. ) Having "buyers remorse" a little bit since I didn't give your model a "try."

I may leave my grills off. (not sure yet) I do see them off in most pics that audiophiles post on fora, and certainly in the stores they are always off. Hmmmm.............just have to consider what potential damage over time it could potentially do to the cones having to either wipe them off or vacuum them.

Thanks again. (I bet that room sounds awfully nice.)

Joe

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Grills on or off is really a non issue to me. I leave them on esp in the HT where the grills are black and I want the speakers to disapear. I think when you think about all the other things that affect the sound, the grills are on the bottom of the list.

Thanks Cal. I think I am going to put them back on. With my luck, some night I would have too many beers and embark upon a vacuuming project, ending up with a hole in the cone..............Seriously, thanks for your time.

Joe

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Mark hows the room treatment working for you?

Absolute best thing I've ever done. Looking at the specs on the foambymail site it shows that the treble frequences are absorbed most by the 2" foam I have. As a result, bass and midrange has been boosted and the overall bass output is much smoother. Having the corner blocks & foam on the rear upper corners has also made the soundstage come alive and be much more forward focused.

Basically put, it has taken every descriptive sound word (soundstage, depth, etc) and boosted it up a notch or two.

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