Many speaker designers will make accomodations for the effects of the grill cloth and will make the tweeter a bit "hotter" to compensate.
I don't think that there are any hard and fast rules. I've always found it best to just try it both ways and see what works best. Most sound better with the grills removed, but not always.
In a more direct answer to the original question regarding grills on the Totem Forest, I would recommend that you contact Totem. They are, however, obviously designed to be used sans the grills, so you'll have to guage how adverse the effect of leaving them on will be to your listening enjoyment. I had a pair of Aerial Model 5s which included grills but they are clearly an afterthought and are designed soley for the purpose of protecting the speakers when not listening (and perhaps appeasing significant others).
-Dan
I don't think that there are any hard and fast rules. I've always found it best to just try it both ways and see what works best. Most sound better with the grills removed, but not always.
In a more direct answer to the original question regarding grills on the Totem Forest, I would recommend that you contact Totem. They are, however, obviously designed to be used sans the grills, so you'll have to guage how adverse the effect of leaving them on will be to your listening enjoyment. I had a pair of Aerial Model 5s which included grills but they are clearly an afterthought and are designed soley for the purpose of protecting the speakers when not listening (and perhaps appeasing significant others).
-Dan