What happen to finishing speakers like furniture?


I don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but I'm tired of laminate! I have a $1700 pair of Pinnacle Aerogels and they are finished with laminate. I miss the days when real wood veneers were the standard, not the exception. Over the last few months I've purchased four different pairs of vintage Klipsch speakers - Heresys and Fortes and come to realize that speakers should look as good as the $4,000 Entertainment center. I'm currently in the process of refinishing a pair of Heresys in Red Mahogony and they are absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see the finished product. I understand why speaker companies have gone to laminates, but I wish they didn't need to.
japosey
The biggest problem with affordability on real-wood venner is the quality. Not all wood-veneers are the same, if the blade is somewhat dull in the stripping process it can cause cracks, also, knots can cause problems, and what might be a beautiful peice of wood for crafting a table or carving, might turn out to be total crap for veneer work. Most logging companys will sell wood for veneer but wont let the buyers cut in the wood, so they have to gauge the quality on the outside and endcuts alone.

There is also the issue of matching veneer, if yer doing a set of speakers you better use veneer off of the same log, or the pitch, hue, and markings might be a little off, and the speaker set will no longer maintain that "Togetherness".
Say you are making a set of 30inch tall speakers, and it takes you 20 feet of veneer to cover them both, and the veneer stock you bought is only 30 feet of veneer, well, you have 10feet left you can cover some monitors in, and whatever is left over is usually just conna be trashed as it will not perfectly match another stock of veneer of the same wood.

Plastic veneer is stamped out and you can mismatch stocks of the same ink stock and have perfectly matched speakers, plus it is way cheaper.

Just remember, that veneer-pack you can get at WoodCraft is usually leftover from larger products, and you will be hard pressed to find 2 pieces from different stocks that really match well

Real wood veneer is fantastic though isnt it? Vienna Accousics speakers look every bit as good as they sound, the also use a process to wrap the veneer over corners, which is not something you find often. I think lexus does the same on thier dashboards, and that is about it.

Peace!
Try Tyler Acoustics -- stunning and flawless woodwork. The cabinets are thick and solid -- almost like a rock. These speakers are American craftsmanship at its best. When the speaker is at high volume I can barely feel any vibration coming through the cabinet. Not only that but Ty uses some of the best components money can buy -- I own a pair of Tylos and am no longer thinking of upgrades.

David
Charios from Italy come with SOLID walnut cabinets. The woodworker signs the brass plate next to the serial number. Serious woodworking!

Meadowlark has some pretty nice woodworking on it, too.

Spencer
Avalon Acoustics is also very good. Their birdseye maple and quilted cherry are beautiful. My Soliloquy 6.5s (rosewood) are quite well finished. Aerial Acoustics and Vienna Acoustics also make nicely finished speakers.