@freediver Given my dedicated audio room has no windows by design, and the only thing I use it for is music, and I always listen with very little lighting, your point is moot in my case. The "ugly" finish is actually very pleasant and functional and maximizes the return on my audio dollar. Now if someone has the resources to do otherwise, I would never take issue with that.
As I stated in my initial post, I quite admire a beautiful wood veneer finish and in fact enjoy that in two other systems in my home. In those cases, decorative considerations come into play. For me, it's all about context.
Like Grandma used to say, to each his own.