Anyone Using Harbeths with Grilles off?

Just an observation, but when I worked in a stereo store (many, many years ago), I noticed that the vast majority of customers could never resist the urge to turn up the treble and bass controls. This was true regardless of how bright or bassy the system was with all of the controls left neutral.

While tone controls are a thing of the past on much equipment these days, this same trend plays out in its own way these days. People love to tweak things by using different cables, or removing grills.

Harbeth is one of the most tonally neutral speakers out there when it come to reproducing unamplified acoustic music, but it doesn't surprise me when many ignore the designer's advice and remove the grills. They are just turning up the treble control a notch.

@CD318, regarding the issue of HF hearing loss, keep in mind that condition equally affects both live and reproduced music. I'm in my late 60s an have some HF loss due to age, but I never find live music sounding dull or have any urge to "turn up the treble" at a live presentation of unamplified voice or acoustic instruments. (Sound at a live amplified event is a whole 'nother issue and is often quite poor.)

My goal for my home system is to have it sound as tonally close to what I would hear if the same music were being played live. The human brain actually does a pretty good job of adjusting for hearing loss, so if the speaker is designed to be correct with the grill on, there should be no big acoustic reason to take it off. (That said, appearances play a big role in stereo equipment and some just like the looks of exposed drivers.)