Love it, or Hate it ? (wood trim)


Well, actually not quite that strong!

I'm talking about wood trim on amps or preamps? Some of the wood appears to be quite beautiful, but I think that it looks "wrong" and I dislike wood trim! I'm taking an informal poll:

Hate= Would NEVER own with wood trim
Dislike= Would prefer no wood trim
Neutral= I could care less
Like= Would prefer wood trim
Love= MUST have wood trim

Also, if you live outside of the USA, would you please indicate so and your country, [if you feel comfortable giving this info]?

I'm just curious about preferences, and also to see if they vary in other countries!
fatparrot
Viridian, you need a Grado cartridge as it has a wooden body, and will be able to track those wood trimmed LP's :-)
I once owned an A&R Cambridge (now Arcam) A60 integrated amp (30w) which had an all-wood casing. Mine was in rimu, a fine native wood of New Zealand. I loved that amp as far as sight and sound were concerned, and it was only the need for more power that caused me to abandon it in favor of Plinius products, also native to New Zealand. I've always worried about metal casework vibrations in these and other conventional amps, so I applied some sorbothane strips to the interior surfaces. But there was no audible change, so maybe the preference for wood was aesthetic only.
I love the look of wood trim when done right; my kid's old Kyocera CD player look great with the wood side-pieces, as does my Opera Consonnance Cyber 10 tube integrated with the wood top I use in my office system. To my eye it adds something to the gear when done tastefuly, breaks up the boring/industrial lines of most audio equipment. Looks like I'm in the minority.

Jeff (Canadian)
Love it UNDERNEATH some gear (those bautifully finished maple platforms from Mapleshade) and on my 1962-era Empire turntable. Don't much like it otherwise, and there's no wood on my last two pairs of speakers (Gallo Ultimates and Gallo Reference 3s). Interesting thread. Dave