OK, the grills are not removable, so they must be original. I tried the AR-2 on its side, and you are right that it made a big difference. Overall these speaker have an incredibly warm sound that I love. At the mid and high end they are not as precise as my Focal Chora 806s (which lack the AR warmth), and when I try to crank up the tweeters to max output, the sound becomes harsh. I have put them back to the mid-point, and that seems to work best.