Question about speaker grills/open area

[emor]

I am interested in this grill for a pair of TL806s I am building.
I like the unfinished aluminum and the flange edge.

http://www.speakerworks.com/Custom_A...rill_p/cg1.htm

I have a question, however, about the amount of open area.
What percentage of open area would be recommended?



These custom speaker grills (speaker covers) are made of perforated .050 aluminum that has 1/8" holes on a 3/16" staggered pattern.

[emor]

(addendum)

Visually, I wouldn't mind larger holes, if someone has a source for the aluminum w/flange combination.

[Rick Auricchio]

I would simply look for the most-open pattern. A 0% open pattern would be a solid metal plate over the speaker, which is useless. A 100% open pattern is no grille at all.

So pick something as open as possible while still providing structural strength. There are plenty of choices of metal, as shown here: http://www.perf-plus.com/?s=perforated-metal .

Your example is aluminum, which seems too soft to protect without getting beat up. And, according to the table at perf-plus, it's only 40% open!

It appears that perf-plus sells only raw sheets of metal. There are other suppliers who will cut and bend for you, but I can't find my bookmarks to those sites.

[greenboy]

As I recall when I was spec'ing grills for fEarfuls, that was a fairly open pattern. As you seem to have surmised, it's not the hole size alone that determines that - it's also how many holes you've jammed into a given area.

The downside of these grills is the thickness and the material, making them definitely more suitable for smaller-baffled cabs that don't get banged around unduly.

I think the look could be sharp : }

[Rick Auricchio]

These guys have a few good choices: http://www.reliablehardware.com/cust...staggered.aspx

The aluminum one cited in the OP is .050 thick. That's less than 1/16" (.0625), making it very susceptible to dents. It's also possible that it may flop in/out depending on how large it is.

[greenboy]

My fave at Reliable is the smaller hole pattern that comes in I think at 63%. A very good grill indeed.

I couldn't check your link out there, Rick, but at one time if that's the grill I'm thinking it was rated at 60%. They has some other finer mesh that was abysmally opaque though.

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

The aluminum one cited in the OP is .050 thick. That's less than 1/16" (.0625), making it very susceptible to dents. It's also possible that it may flop in/out depending on how large it is.

As I said above,

"The downside of these grills is the thickness and the material, making them definitely more suitable for smaller-baffled cabs that don't get banged around unduly."

[emor]

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

These guys have a few good choices: http://www.reliablehardware.com/cust...staggered.aspx

The aluminum one cited in the OP is .050 thick. That's less than 1/16" (.0625), making it very susceptible to dents. It's also possible that it may flop in/out depending on how large it is.

Thanks for all the responses.

I looked at the link quoted above. Looks like the color selection is black, which isn't necessarily a deal killer; I just thought the aluminum (with a brushed finish) would look distinctive.

The finished grill size is only going to be about 13" x 13" with a 1" flange.

They are small cabs and I handle my gear pretty carefully.

[ptidwell]

I use reliable hardware for all my grills, 1/4" holes iirc it is 68%.
You may want to give Gene at reliable a call 818.753.8558 www.reliablehardware.com
Hope that helps.

[greenboy]

Reliable screens: no, 1/4" holes at their spacing is 58% and change.

5/32" holes are 62 and change.

3/16" trails either of those.