Marbles,
I'm totally ecstatic about my new speakers. I didn't get any options and I couldn't be happier. The finish speaks for itself. As George said, I haven't seen a Salk speaker that didn't look amazing.
I have acoustic foam behind the curtains at the corners and 1st reflection points. There's a 92" screen behind the front wall curtains for my projector. I wanted very dark speakers so they wouldn't distract from movie watching. If I had a dedicated 2 channel system in a well lit room, I think I would have gone for the Claro Walnut all around. At least that's how I feel this week. Every time I see something new by Jim Salk, I think "I want that one."
As for sound, I'm playing with placement and breaking them in. My initial impression is that these are very even speakers across the whole frequence range. The bass problem I had with my previous speakers is gone and the difference was immediately apparent. I started with the speakers crossed in front of me but the soundstage was too narrow that way. It seemed as though all the instruments and voices were coming from directly between the speakers. Now I have the speakers toed in so that they cross a few feet behind me and the soundstage is better. I'll keep playing with things and we'll see what's best.