[ctviggen]

I experimentally took the grills off my RM40s.  It sounded different to me (a litter brighter or "tin-ier" to me), but I can't yet tell without more experiment whether I like or dislike it.  How many people leave the grills on?  If you leave the grills on, is it musical preference or better looks that keep them on?

[JoshK]

off definitely.  If for some weird reason the speakers sound better with them on then turn the tweeter down one click or two and take them off.

[meilankev]

Bob,

I'm not that hung up on it.  I had the grills off for about 18 months straight until recently (they were stuck in a closet).  But a couple of months ago, I "finally" got around to cleaning out a lot of junk out of all our closets (my wife had been bugging me for over a year).   In this one closet, I came across the RM40 grills, and I decided to place them on the speakers - to keep them from getting damaged more than anything.

As it turns out, they are still on the speakers (2 months later).  Now I'm fully aware that no grill is "sonically invisible".  I'm also aware than it is highly unlikely that any alteration of the sound (brought on by the grills) could be considered an improvement.  And finally, when I had some folks over three weeks ago, I removed the grills for their listening sessions.

How much of a negative effect do the grills cause?  Is it a 2% degradation?  Is it a .0003% degradation?  That will depend on the upstream components, the room, and most of all: the listener and his/her preferences.

As with with every other facet of your speakers (location in the room, firing angle, putty removal, potentiometer settings), keep the grills (or remove them) based upon your personal preferences.  There is no "right" or "wrong".

Kevin

[drewfidelity]

Like many of us, I have small children and have no choice but to keep the grills on my speakers for fear of tweeter fingers and phase plug pulling matches.  I personally find that with the grills off of the FF-1's there is a slight increase in treble energy and a very small forward soundstage push.  I can only detect this when it is very late and there is absolute silence in the house.  The rest of the time I do not really hear a difference, though others with better high frequency response hearing may.

I find that the grills on make the speakers seem less imposing.  I think that has a positive effect on my listening experience.  Then again, I am convinced that reading audio magazines while listening makes my system sound better so keep what I have to say in perspective.  

[ctviggen]

Hey, is that Ben Harper any good?  He just did a CD with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and it's really good.

Thanks for all the responses.  I personally like the looks of the RM40s better with the grills on.  I'm still undecided about whether the speakers sound better with or without the grills on, but I haven't sat down enough to figure this out.  I just took the grills off a day ago and listened to a few songs.  I know what you mean about kids -- I lived with a family for a few years and I had to keep the protective screen on my TV.  You could tell the kids over and over again not to touch the TV, but they're drawn to 57 inch TVs like moths to flame.  That, and buttons.  Kids love buttons.  I couldn't understand why the sound was horrible, and then I realized that my friend's kid had turned off the amp to my center and surrounds.  And there's one, hard-to-see button on the amp.

[zybar]

Hey, is that Ben Harper any good?  He just did a CD with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and it's really good.

Thanks for all the responses.  I personally like the looks of the RM40s better with the grills on.  I'm still undecided about whether the speakers sound better with or without the grills on, but I haven't sat down enough to figure this out.  I just took the grills off a day ago and listened to a few songs.  I know what you mean about kids -- I lived with a family for a few years and I had to keep the ...

ALL Ben Harper is good!!  

The track that was referenced is on the "Fight For Your Mind" cd.

I would leave the grills off if at possible.

George

[John Casler]

I experimentally took the grills off my RM40s.  It sounded different to me (a litter brighter or "tin-ier" to me), but I can't yet tell without more experiment whether I like or dislike it.  How many people leave the grills on?  If you leave the grills on, is it musical preference or better looks that keep them on?

Hey Bob,

For years I would have said "grilless" is the "ONLY" way to listen to any speaker, for as Kevin mentions no grill is "absolutly transparent".

But, if you consider all sonic elements and what you achieve, it becomes more difficult.  This is especially true with VMPS due to their "adjustability"

To keep it simple, if you have a highly treated room  then grilless is probably the best sonically, since it does remove an extra "sonic veil".

But if you have a normal "untreated" living room, the story might be different.  And why is that?

The grills retard and provide some degree of reduction in baffle reflection and side wall first reflections, which can be valuable in certain rooms.

How does this happen?  Well there are primarily two functions at play here:

1) the grill frame physically blocks some portion of the baffle reflections and side reflections.

2) the grill material is less acoustically tranparent to sound that travels through it directly (90 degrees = straight on) than sound that approaches it a at angles less than 90 degrees

If the grills are used; all tuning should be done with them on so that the overall presentation compensates for the slight attenuation of the grill material.

And I might mention that maybe those who like the "foam lapels" treatment I posted for RM40s some time ago, might be able to talk Brian into sending them an additional (for a fee) pair of grill frames that would allow the tweaks (3"-4" strips of wedge foam) to be added or removed at any time.

[ctviggen]

Thanks, George -- You're also the one on whose recommendation I bought the Blind Boys CD.

Thanks, John -- I currently have an untreated room, but am trying to get stuff for a treated room.  Buying treatments is a matter of when, not if.

[ctviggen]

Although I'm still undecided about the grills on/grills off debate in terms of sound, it's amazing how much "thinner" the RM40s speakers look with the grills on.  With the grills off, you realize just how big the speaker is, when you see the two 12-inch woofers, 4 midranges, etc.  With the grills on, they look downright dainty!  

[jimmyp58]

Though I don't want to, I have the grills on --- WAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!