Hey guys. I started a thread about this over in the DIY thread, but figured this would be another great place to get some feedback.
I'm building a custom cabinet which will house my center channel speaker - a Paradigm CC-350 - and I'm thinking about using perforated steel as inserts for the doors that will enclose the cabinet (a la Salamander Synergy and Studiotech cabinets). At first I was thinking the amount of high-frequency cut-off was going to be only negligible and that if I just removed the cloth grille that comes with the speaker and adjusted my AVR center channel output I could compensate for the new perforated steel grille in front of the speaker, but now I'm second guessing myself. The perforated steel I'm looking at has an open area of 40% which I think is going to cut off a lot of high-frequencies.
Any of you guys have any insight to using perforated steel in front of speakers (either as grilles or in cabinet doors) and how it affects the sound? I read a review by LA AudioFile of one of Studiotech's cabinets which uses perforated steel doors and they called it "acoustically transparent." Anyone know if they're correct?
Here are the specs for the type of perf'd steel I want to use (as best I can tell, this is the exact same type used by both Salamander and Studiotech which got touted as "acoustically transparent"):
Product Type : Round Hole
Major Material : Plain Steel
Gauge (Thickness) : 20
Hole Size : 1/8"
Hole Centers : 3/16"
Hole Pattern : Staggered
% Open Area : 40%
http://www.mcnichols.com/eCommerce/s...ber=1618312038
Thanks!
I'm building a custom cabinet which will house my center channel speaker - a Paradigm CC-350 - and I'm thinking about using perforated steel as inserts for the doors that will enclose the cabinet (a la Salamander Synergy and Studiotech cabinets). At first I was thinking the amount of high-frequency cut-off was going to be only negligible and that if I just removed the cloth grille that comes with the speaker and adjusted my AVR center channel output I could compensate for the new perforated steel grille in front of the speaker, but now I'm second guessing myself. The perforated steel I'm looking at has an open area of 40% which I think is going to cut off a lot of high-frequencies.
Any of you guys have any insight to using perforated steel in front of speakers (either as grilles or in cabinet doors) and how it affects the sound? I read a review by LA AudioFile of one of Studiotech's cabinets which uses perforated steel doors and they called it "acoustically transparent." Anyone know if they're correct?
Here are the specs for the type of perf'd steel I want to use (as best I can tell, this is the exact same type used by both Salamander and Studiotech which got touted as "acoustically transparent"):

Product Type : Round Hole
Major Material : Plain Steel
Gauge (Thickness) : 20
Hole Size : 1/8"
Hole Centers : 3/16"
Hole Pattern : Staggered
% Open Area : 40%
http://www.mcnichols.com/eCommerce/s...ber=1618312038
Thanks!