I have noticed over the last couple of years that newer speakers no longer have grilles on them. It seems wildly unsafe to have a bare tweeter that any slight accident can destroy the expensive piece of equipment.
The manufacturer can save money by not including grills and if the speaker gets damaged they will make more money when you buy a replacement speaker.
Sounds like it’s the opposite of unsafe for the companies continued profits.
Eh, grills are kinda meh, imo. They do protect from impact, but that’s not as likely as you’d think. But dust and debris? Grills are useless. You need something that will prevent things like that from getting on the speakers and causing deterioration over time.
Unless you’re including screens and meshes in grilles, and some folks do.
But yeah, it’s cheaper, and people like to see the speakers, so it helps sales. No bullshit, I’ve lost track of how many people have been weirded out that my car system is covered by a screen. They think you have to see the speakers or they’re somehow fake or made of cheap materials. Like, motherfucker, I built that damn box for one thing. But car speakers are exposed to sun and heat and even worse dust. Not having a screen over them is silly.
Like the others said… corporate greed.
What kind of speakers? I recently got some Klipsch home audio that have removable grilles. The look with the grille off definitely looks better if you don’t have kids and stuff IMO. I’ve also recently bought some Pioneer for my truck and they too came with optional grilles though I didn’t need them since they went behind the door panels.
I just checked BestBuy, which is obviously not the best source of information, but all of the floor speakers they have come with grills. They show them without the grills, but there’s always a picture at the end to show that they come with them.
Hrm, I’ve got a $6k set of Klips I put together about a year or so ago and they all have grilles.
I’m looking at a ~$20k set of SVS Ultra Evos in the next few months, they’ve all got grilles.
Everything else I’ve explored and considered in the ‘window shopping’ that has led me to the SVS - Paradigm, higher end Klips, PSB, Wharfedale, JBL, all in around that same price point, also all had grilles.
Are you sure the pictures you’re seeing are not just making a point of showing you what is under the grilles, but they do in fact come with grilles?
