Speaker grill styles

I have chosen to further investigate the large range of speaker grills available. The range of soft and hard covers can vary greatly, the styles include cloth, wire mesh, perforated metal sheet, plastic/metal bars, injection moulded plastic, and so. For the average listener the material used for the speaker grill does not effect the sound quality. But for the audiophile's, the sound difference can be noted between the covers. The covers can be used as a feature, or just mould into the form to to create a minimal look.

The choice made on the material used for speaker grills also expresses the location, and expected type of use for the radio. For our internet radios the speaker grill is not needed so much for protection, as it would be needed to protect radios located on building sites.  A cloth covering, or even a bare speaker could be used with our internet radios, but a wire mesh would be more suited for a radio on the building site. Removing the speaker grill increases the risk of the speaker cone, and its components being damaged, but in a house or office where internet radios are mostly located hopefully this would not be an issue. I have experimented going without the speaker grills on some of my designs, as I personally like to be able to see the speakers moving along with the music.

The pictures only show a small selection of the large variation of grills available.

Jarrod Burge