As far as appearances and performance are concerned, I knew someone many years ago who had a fixed idea that higher priced products absolutely demanded higher priced componenents parts regardless of the function of a part. He had a top model BMW, and somehow conflated his love for the vehicle and his own sense of self worth. I noticed that the grill of his car was black plastic. It was an indisputable fact that it was plastic, but he blew his top insisting, in the face of the plain fact, that his beloved BMW simply could not be fitted with plastic parts. Now, of course, even the most expensive cars have plastic parts to save weight and thereby improve performance.
I'm not sure how authoritative this site is and I don't agree with all it says, but it advises speaker buyers to look at finishes this way, which seems reasonable to me:
"Finishes and grilles - Finish of the cabinet plays no role in the overall contribution of sound quality of a speaker system; it is merely a statement of fashion and prestige. While it is desirable to have a speaker system with a nice wood veneer finish, it should not be a primary concern as these types of finishes add cost to the system without an increase of performance. Most speakers have a vinyl finish with a wood grained appearance and some of these look like real wood, and it is difficult to tell that it is vinyl."
http://www.buyingloudspeakers.com/Construction%20and%20Materials.htmI think the great thing James is doing is to let the customer decide what he wants: lower price and vinyl or higher price and wood. Best of both worlds. It looks like a sensible solution that let's everyone have what they want.
Dave