Covering bass ports?

[revans]

Ok here's a really quick question for you guys.
I get the feeling it's going to seem pretty stupid, but anyway...
Is it alright to cover bass reflex ports with speaker grille cloth?
Thinking about it logically, I'd be about 90% sure the answer's going to be no; but I don't know all that much about building speakers (just making my first set) and would like to check, just in case (as it would boost the aesthetics of my speakers - in my opinion, that is)... Thanks.

[Dr.EM]

Certainly don't think it'll be a problem. Many commercial speakers have detachable grilles which when applied cover the ports. It's such light material that it won't act to restrict the movement of air much

[revans]

Oh really, cool, wasn't expecting that... the material I have is proper speaker cloth so that should be fine?

[dave_gerecke]

Hello revans, If you can see light through the cloth you are using for a grill cloth, you shouldn't have any issues. If it passes light, it will pass air.

Peace,

Dave

[revans]

Thanks for clearing that up guys... much appreciated

[moray james]

the air in a vent will when at full resonance move the entire vent length in and out of the vent itself on either side so having things in the way will cause problems. How severe I cannot say as I always made sure my vents were unobstructed. If you measured with and without fabric you could see the impact on tunning. Would be interesting to know just what the difference is.

[revans]

Good idea there james; however, I'm new to this speaker building lark and haven't got the tools or the know how to measure the difference, sorry.

Aside from that, my speakers are a 2-channel setup with one 4" Tang Band full range in each speaker - with a high pass filter at 70hz - so there probably won't be any major air movement I reckon.

[moray james]

you can always try with and without and see how much difference you can hear. In many commercial designs they are so poorly done you would not notice much at all. I think that in a well designed reflex there would be a difference. Who knows you may use that port a lot to keep your small cones in the gap where they belong. Good luck.