A Stupid Question!

Well one I dont know anyway - what is the mesh part on the front of the speakers for? You can take it off but for what reason?

 

I assume you mean the speaker grilles, usually made out of cloth, but sometimes metal (usually on cheap speakers). Its just for protecting the drive units really. I took the grilles straight off my speakers.

 

Could be used for stopping curious insects from flying into front facing subwoofer ports.

 

The grille has a few functions mostly it's to protect the drivers from curious fingers, dust etc and to improve the look of the speakers. On some speakers the speaker grille is an integral part of the speaker design and shouldn't be removed when listening. Some people prefer listening to their speakers without the grilles as they feel it can muffle the higher frequencies.