Good quality speaker grill cloth does not affect sound quality because it’s acoustically transparent which means sound can pass through with no loss. The main purpose of the material is to improve the aesthetics of speakers while also keeping contaminants out of the sensitive components.
It mostly boils down to a matter of personal preference. Some people claim their speakers sound better with no fabric, while others say the opposite.
I personally recommend using speaker fabric because it can prolong the life of your speakers by preventing dust and other damage. It’s especially important to cover the speakers if you have young children or pets in your home.
However, there are low-quality speaker meshes that can reduce the sound quality of your speakers. For that reason, it’s important to learn how to spot the differences between good and bad speaker fabric.
The best way to test if a fabric is acoustically transparent is to hold the fabric up to your mouth, put a hand behind it, and breathe on it. If you can feel your breath on your hand behind the fabric, the material is probably acoustically transparent.
However, if you don’t feel your breath on your hand, it’s likely not a good option. The breath test is a good way to check for acoustic transparency because if air can get through the material then the sound can too.
Speaker cloth is a useful material and it can be used for all kinds of projects.
Here are some of the most common:
Do you have large speakers that look like they’ve been attacked by a wild animal? It can definitely be an eye-sore, especially when they’re in the living room. Replacing the protection cloth on the old speakers can bring new life to them. It’s a relatively simple project too.
Since the material is acoustically transparent, wireless signals can pass through with no issues. You could use the fabric to create an enclosure for a router or other wireless transmitters. It can also help reduce cable clutter.
If you have some speakers that don’t have a protection mesh, it’s recommended to spend some time covering them up with a good quality speaker fabric. When your speakers are protected, they’ll not only look better, but they’ll last longer too. And you can always replace the mesh later on.
