Does a cloth grille affect the sound of a sub?

[Irvrobinson]

I was listening to some music yesterday, and the sun hit the grille cloth in such a way that I could see it pumping in and out with the bass notes of the music. So I wondered, would the sub sound better with the grille off? I removed the grille, and of course it sounded better, because I expected it to be better.

Thinking about it a little bit, the back pressure from the cloth to sub's cone must be inconsequential compared to the force of the voice coil. Or is it? With the grille off you can feel the force of the bass with your hand. Would the back pressure cause distortion? Just lower efficiency a bit? Or have no audible effect whatsoever?

For the time being I'm leaving the grille off, but the carbon fiber look of the sub's cone attracts the cat every time she walks by it when I'm listening. So I'd rather use the grille. If she scratches that driver I will be livid. (When I'm not listening I put a cardboard box for a bass drum head in front of the sub to keep the cat from treating it like a scratching post. Yes, it looks stupid, but my wife insists that if she has to choose one of us, well, she hasn't always had a husband, but she has always had a cat. There's no practical way to close off the room.)

Anyway, is it likely that the sub really does perform better without a grille cloth?

 

[theJman]

For the time being I'm leaving the grille off, but the carbon fiber look of the sub's cone attracts the cat every time she walks by it when I'm listening. So I'd rather use the grille. If she scratches that driver I will be livid. (When I'm not listening I put a cardboard box for a bass drum head in front of the sub to keep the cat from treating it like a scratching post. Yes, it looks stupid, but my wife insists that if she has to choose one of us, well, she hasn't always had a husband, but she has always had a cat. There's no practical way to close off the room.)

Perhaps it's time to rid yourself of the wife and her cat. Seems like neither has your best interests in mind...

If the grill material is pretty transparent I doubt any negative consequences would be audible. You might be able to measure them, but probably not hear them. If you hold the grill up to a light can you see through the material with relative ease, or does it appear to be very dense? Either way, I doubt leaving it off is a good idea in your case. If it turns out to be a problem perhaps you should consider a down-firing subwoofer instead. That could mitigate your concerns.

 

[mike c]

i think the effect is kinda like a windshield for a microphone

doesn't affect the sound, but the wind is diffused?

 

[Irvrobinson]

i think the effect is kinda like a windshield for a microphone

doesn't affect the sound, but the wind is diffused?

I thought that was true for high frequencies, but for bass? That's where I'm thinking maybe not.

 

[Tin Ear]

I removed the grille, and of course it sounded better, because I expected it to be better.

^^^ that .

Personally I would take the cardboard box and put it OVER THE CAT, but I am a dog lover at heart .

 

[TLS Guy]

I was listening to some music yesterday, and the sun hit the grille cloth in such a way that I could see it pumping in and out with the bass notes of the music. So I wondered, would the sub sound better with the grille off? I removed the grille, and of course it sounded better, because I expected it to be better.

Thinking about it a little bit, the back pressure from the cloth to sub's cone must be inconsequential compared to the force of the voice coil. Or is it? With the grille off you can feel the force of the bass with your hand. Would the back pressure cause distortion? Just lower efficiency a bit? Or have no audible effect whatsoever?

For the time being I'm leaving the grille off, but the carbon fiber look of the sub's cone attracts the cat every time she walks by it when I'm listening. So I'd rather use the grille. If she scratches that driver I will be livid. (When I'm not listening I put a cardboard box for a bass drum head in front of the sub to keep the cat from treating it like a scratching post. Yes, it looks stupid, but my wife insists that if she has to choose one of us, well, she hasn't always had a husband, but she has always had a cat. There's no practical way to close off the room.)

Anyway, is it likely that the sub really does perform better without a grille cloth?

That is poor quality material and will affect the sound. The grill should not move and will change the compliance of the driver as well as other T/S parameters and change the tuning.

Do the Carter blow test. Get the grill up to your mouth and blow through it. You should feel very little increase in resistance compared to blowing in free air.

My grill cloth supplied by Madisound, does not move at all, even when my rig has prodigious bass output.

However it may not be comparable to to your sealed subs, as my TLs control cone movement very tightly, greatly reducing distortion.

My material has very little resistance on the blow test, when stretched on the frames.

If you have a lot of resistance I would build a new grill.

 

[Irvrobinson]

That is poor quality material and will affect the sound. The grill should not move and will change the compliance of the driver as well as other T/S parameters and change the tuning.

Thanks. That's what I suspected. Changing the fabric would probably affect the resale value of the sub, so I'll just start listening with the grille off. And I'll keep an eye on that cat!

 

[slipperybidness]

Thanks. That's what I suspected. Changing the fabric would probably affect the resale value of the sub, so I'll just start listening with the grille off. And I'll keep an eye on that cat!

If you time it right, let the cat get near the sub then play some heart-stopping bass

If you scare him good, he may not want to have anything to do with it ever again.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks. That's what I suspected. Changing the fabric would probably affect the resale value of the sub, so I'll just start listening with the grille off. And I'll keep an eye on that cat!

Keep the original grill and make a new one.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Keep the original grill and make a new one.

Too much work. It's a very intricate beveled-edge design with a cutout for the driver and the control panel, made of 1" MDF.

 

[Irvrobinson]

If you time it right, let the cat get near the sub then play some heart-stopping bass

If you scare him good, he may not want to have anything to do with it ever again.

That doesn't seem to bother her. In fact, we call her the "audiophile cat", because she sits next to me on the sofa while I listen at reference levels. One would think she would go hide under a bed. And she isn't deaf either.

 

[Alex2507]

the sub's cone attracts the cat every time she walks by it when I'm listening.

Get a spray bottle from Home Depot that has a 'stream' setting. Fill it with water and a couple of drops of lemon juice. When the cat gets close to the gear give it a little squirt. If the wife complains you can squirt her too but that might backfire.

 

[Adam]

You could also try odors and plants. Check out this page as an example. Cats tend to avoid certain smells.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Get a spray bottle from Home Depot that has a 'stream' setting. Fill it with water and a couple of drops of lemon juice. When the cat gets close to the gear give it a little squirt. If the wife complains you can squirt her too but that might backfire.

This suggestion didn't go over well.

 

[majorloser]

You can always place a metal grill over the driver:

PRO AUDIO STEEL GRILLS from Parts Express ship same day and come with 45 day money back guarantee. Free Shipping Available. Order free 10,000 product catalog.

Or just a simple bar style grill:

12" Bar Grill Black 260-443


I'm a cat owner and have lived with it. I own Canton Ergo towers and one of the reasons I liked them was the metal grills a cat can't destroy. But cats love subwoofers. I don't know if it's the vibrations or just having a high place to lay on and watch the humans. Covering the top with a towel or small mat won't hurt the sound but will protect the finish. I've read that cats don't like the crinkle of plastic or bubble wrap, but every cat I've know LOVES plastic and will even lay on it and lick it.

Spraying a cat with water can lead to more problems than it's worth. It can very likely cause negative reactions. last thing you want is the cat to take out his aggressions on something else in your house. Or even worse, spraying the subwoofer to mark the territory.

 

[Irvrobinson]

You can always place a metal grill over the driver:

PRO AUDIO STEEL GRILLS from Parts Express ship same day and come with 45 day money back guarantee. Free Shipping Available. Order free 10,000 product catalog.

Or just a simple bar style grill:

12" Bar Grill Black 260-443


I'm a cat owner and have lived with it. I own Canton Ergo towers and one of the reasons I liked them was the metal grills a cat can't destroy. But cats love subwoofers. I don't know if it's the vibrations or just having a high place to lay on and watch the humans. Covering the top with a towel or small mat won't hurt the sound but will protect the finish. I've read that cats don't like the crinkle of plastic or bubble wrap, but every cat I've know LOVES plastic and will even lay on it and lick it.

Spraying a cat with water can lead to more problems than it's worth. It can very likely cause negative reactions. last thing you want is the cat to take out his aggressions on something else in your house. Or even worse, spraying the subwoofer to mark the territory.

That metal grille looks interesting. It's also available in an 18" size, so I'll look into it. Perhaps I can glue magnets on it for holding it in place, because the clamp kit won't work. I need to measure it for size.

When I'm not listening I put a throw pillow on the top of the sub. That has kept her from jumping on top, so far. But that carbon-fiber pattern on the cone just looks like something she wants to scratch.

Edit - unfortunately, the driver has no exposed metal ring, and the cabinet front is piano black, so the metal grille won't work. Unfortunate; it looked good.

 

[DTS]

Sometimes I take off, it looks cool and I like to feel the breeze from it.

 

[timoteo]

The only time I would suspect that a subwoofer grill would EVER effect the sound is if the sub is ported & the grill covers the port openings! For instance, the Rythmik FV15 has a grill that covers the driver & both ports. I never liked that design. Even if the grill doesn't slow the air down it can produce chuffing type noises if you set close & listen at reference levels. Yes it may be extremely faint but there is that possibility. That's one reason I like the HSU VTF-15h, the grill is shaped to only cover the driver & it leaves the 2 triangle ports completely unblocked!!!

But as far as the grill effecting the sound coming off the driver...do you realize how thick of material is needed to have any effect on even a 50hz tone? The wavelength of sub frequencies are very long & a sheet of nylon will do nothing to effect that!

 

[Irvrobinson]

The only time I would suspect that a subwoofer grill would EVER effect the sound is if the sub is ported & the grill covers the port openings! For instance, the Rythmik FV15 has a grill that covers the driver & both ports. I never liked that design. Even if the grill doesn't slow the air down it can produce chuffing type noises if you set close & listen at reference levels. Yes it may be extremely faint but there is that possibility. That's one reason I like the HSU VTF-15h, the grill is shaped to only cover the driver & it leaves the 2 triangle ports completely unblocked!!!

But as far as the grill effecting the sound coming off the driver...do you realize how thick of material is needed to have any effect on even a 50hz tone? The wavelength of sub frequencies are very long & a sheet of nylon will do nothing to effect that!

I dunno. What TLS Guy said made a lot of sense.

 

[slipperybidness]

I dunno. What TLS Guy said made a lot of sense.

Why don't you ask the manufacturer? I'm sure they can tell you definitively.