How important is speaker cloth, or is it at all?

[rogerroll]

Long story short: Ruined speaker cloth while trying to clean. Should I replace?

Long story long: I took the speakers off my front grill (plastic resin?) to clean the grooves and speaker slots. There were some dust bunnies in the two 12-inchers and I found a dime! $$! The speaker cloths were spotty with mould so peeled them off each speaker and tried to clean them. That didn’t go well. I sprayed them with soapy water and all the colour ran out and they turned into soggy rags. Once dried, they shrunk and stiffened up and the edges are now all frayed. I’m thinking of not replacing them. Should I care? What’s the purpose of these cloth covers anyways? Do they have any effect on sound?

Also, should I replace the speakers upside down?

Thanks!

[Ron Rich]

Well, Sir, They were put there for a "reason", as Mr. Rockola never spent that dime, you found for "nothing" ! I don't know the exact reason that it was there, but speaker cloth serves several purposes -- keeping stuff out / speakers fairly clean -- stopping "rattles" -- cosmetic purposes. Ron Rich