[Mike Dzurko]

Gee Mike, sorry about that. I only see black & cherry when i go to your site. I just took it for grated that was all that was available. My bad. 
Robin

Robin:

No bad at all . . . at present the XLs are black and cherry. Take a look at these:
http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/speakersdisc.htm

[Groch]

I voted Maple because I think it offers the best contrast to the Cherry.  But I am pleased with my Gloss Black and would order them again.

[JimmyB]

Natural cherry would match more home furniture better than the red stained cherry in my opinion and the wifes, she has an iussue mathcing our furniture to the red cherry maestro,, maybe i need another maestro to match????. 
Many other exotics out there as well.

[ajayrav]

I agree with the previous posters that the inlaid look isn't at all attractive to me.  I prefer well-done, but understated finishes.

My first vote would be for natural cherry, no inlaid corners.  Oak is a little dated and looks a bit DIY these days.  Since the piano black finish is essentially a paint job, I would think other color choices would be a simple option, even if they came with an extended lead time.

One other thing that would be great would be a no grill option, with no mounting holes in the front baffle.

I totally agree with you oak is heavy, dated and my least favorite finish.  First choice for me is piano black, which is what I have.  Non-inlaid wood finishes would be next for me, stacked birch/ zebrawood, cherry (medium), mahogany (dark) and maple (light) in that order.  Also no mounting holes would be great with a magnetic grille option.

[satfrat]

I totally agree with you oak is heavy, dated and my least favorite finish.  First choice for me is piano black, which is what I have.  Non-inlaid wood finishes would be next for me, stacked birch/ zebrawood, cherry (medium), mahogany (dark) and maple (light) in that order.  Also no mounting holes would be great with a magnetic grille option.

I'm not surprised you're not an oak fan, you being from Walnut Creek and all.    Sorry but I just couldn't help myself.

Robin

[jackthecat]

Interesting topic this. I find... (generaly)... Americans and Australians (not sure about New Zealanders) seem to like black and darker woods whereas Europeans seem to prefer light woods that compliment their furniture. Myself I absolutely hate dark furniture and would NEVER have black furniture / speakers and much prefer European design furniture and speakers (mine are Beech.. and beautifull ... DIY Visaton speakers) and therefore would go for the Maple or a light Oak finish ....... I myself am a New Zealander  but not by birth.
(appologies for generalisations made in this post ! All oppinions expressed are my own and not Audio Circle or United Nations endorsed !)
Cheers 

[ajayrav]

I totally agree with you oak is heavy, dated and my least favorite finish.  First choice for me is piano black, which is what I have.  Non-inlaid wood finishes would be next for me, stacked birch/ zebrawood, cherry (medium), mahogany (dark) and maple (light) in that order.  Also no mounting holes would be great with a magnetic grille option.

I'm not surprised you're not an oak fan, you being from Walnut Creek and all.    Sorry but I just couldn't help myself.

Robin

Yeah, I guess that would be logical, huh?   Sadly, the there are not many walnut trees in WC anymore and the creek is mostly underground.  The price of progress I guess....On another note it will be 75 degrees today in the SF Bay area, so we will be basking in the sunshine.....

[Mike Dzurko]

Yeah, I guess that would be logical, huh?   Sadly, the there are not many walnut trees in WC anymore and the creek is mostly underground.  The price of progress I guess....On another note it will be 75 degrees today in the SF Bay area, so we will be basking in the sunshine.....

Ouch . . .    today was the first day in weeks that the temp has seen fit to rise much above ZERO.  Minus 19 a couple of mornings ago. My wife and I love the Bay area . . .

[IndyUSGP]

I would like to see the Oak. It would be one of the easiest woods to match.

[Mike Dzurko]

Natural cherry would match more home furniture better than the red stained cherry in my opinion and the wifes, she has an iussue mathcing our furniture to the red cherry maestro,, maybe i need another maestro to match????. 
Many other exotics out there as well.

Yep, Jimmy, you need a stereo pair!    Any other particular exotic woods that appeal?

[ttowntony]

Mike,

Without at doubt I would like to see a dark wood finish like a Walnut. Here in the South-Central US (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri), we like dark wood tones as most peoples furniture tastes prefer dark stained furniture and cabinetry. Light finishes like Maple or Oak simply would not sell in this part of the country. I don't recall the last time I sold a pair of speakers in Maple. Cherry and Rosewood is an alternative, but they aren't dark enough either......still a hot selling finishes, though.

Ttowntony

[Mike Dzurko]

I've changed the poll to allow voting for inlaid or non-inlaid versions of the four wood types. I've also set it so you can change your existing vote if you so choose. I suspect we'll end up with votes all over the place . . .  but that's fine! I just want as much input as possible from as many folks as possible. 30 votes isn't much on a forum of 8000 +    A sincere thanks to those who've provided input so far!

[srb]

Mike,

How do you submit a write-in vote on the Poll?

Steve

[Carl V]

I've changed the poll to allow voting for inlaid or non-inlaid versions of the four wood types. I've also set it so you can change your existing vote if you so choose. I suspect we'll end up with votes all over the place . . .  but that's fine! I just want as much input as possible from as many folks as possible. 30 votes isn't much on a forum of 8000 +    A sincere thanks to those who've provided input so far!

I assume your inlay is the two tone color scheme that you presently offer...is this correct?  If so I'm not a fan of this look.  I prefer the look of your older speakers...black face with wood sides or all wood.  The painted white has very little appeal to me.  The Painted black you now have is fine.  The economics of offering some automotive type paints might not make your bean counters happy but the pizazz of yellow...burnt orange Deep Crimson or Metalic Beige has some appeal.  Certainly Kharma, Wilson, Crafty...among others...have gone down this path.

I regret selling my old Jag 2000's. 
It would be nice if once a year you offered plans for a legacy design.
One where the drivers are still readily available.  Just a thought. From an
older DIY Jaguar & Sub owner Sub.

[JEaton]

The economics of offering some automotive type paints might not make your bean counters happy but the pizazz of yellow...burnt orange Deep Crimson or Metalic Beige has some appeal.  Certainly Kharma, Wilson, Crafty...among others...have gone down this path.

Have your cabinet maker sand and fill the cabinets and take 'em over to Ned's Auto Body & Fender Shop or (even cheaper) an industrial paint shop.  Still has to be cheaper than the labor involved in fine veneering.

[Mike Dzurko]

Mike,

How do you submit a write-in vote on the Poll?

Steve

Steve:

Just put your idea into a reply . . .  if we get enough write-ins for a particular finish we'll add it to the poll, or perhaps have some sort of second poll with to narrow it down.

[Mike Dzurko]

I assume your inlay is the two tone color scheme that you presently offer...is this correct?  If so I'm not a fan of this look.  I prefer the look of your older speakers...black face with wood sides or all wood.  The painted white has very little appeal to me.  The Painted black you now have is fine.  The economics of offering some automotive type paints might not make your bean counters happy but the pizazz of yellow...burnt orange Deep Crimson or Metalic Beige has some appeal.  Certainly Kharma, Wilson, Crafty...among others...have gone down this path.

I regret selling my old Jag 2000's. 
It would be nice if once a year you offered plans for a legacy design.
One where the drivers are still readily available.  Just a thought. From an
older DIY Jaguar & Sub owner Sub.

Carl:

You are correct, the inlaid look is what we feature on the Sapphire XLs on our homepage . . .  The painted white was actually an automotive finish, Lexus Pearl White to be exact. Interesting you mention offering more painted finishes, it is a possibility, they'd cost essentially the same as the Piano Black which is also an automotive type finish.

We can certainly offer more finishes . . . the difficulty will be in keeping the lead time down. If we decide to stock, say walnut, we'll want to order cabinets for Sapphire XL, XLC, Force XL, Titan XL, Maestro XL, and Emerald XL . . .  so that is a LOT of cabinets, and we don't have the space right now. One idea would be to offer a large number of optional finishes, but they would be special order with the needed lead time . . . .

You're not the first who has regretted selling Jags, sorry!    Have you kept an eye out on Audiogon for used ones? Seems they do come up every once in awhile . . .

[Affordable$$Audio]

Mike:
I would suggest that with the maple you offer the classic medium hard rock maple finish.  First, maple is only offered in a natural finish by manufacturers, so it would stand out.  Second, with the WAF factor, maple's light grain can work well with many different types of wood furniture.

[Mike Dzurko]

Mike,

Without at doubt I would like to see a dark wood finish like a Walnut. Here in the South-Central US (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri), we like dark wood tones as most peoples furniture tastes prefer dark stained furniture and cabinetry. Light finishes like Maple or Oak simply would not sell in this part of the country. I don't recall the last time I sold a pair of speakers in Maple. Cherry and Rosewood is an alternative, but they aren't dark enough either......still a hot selling finishes, though.

Ttowntony

This is a great perspective . . . . much appreciated!

[Mike Dzurko]

Have your cabinet maker sand and fill the cabinets and take 'em over to Ned's Auto Body & Fender Shop or (even cheaper) an industrial paint shop.  Still has to be cheaper than the labor involved in fine veneering.

Good input . . .  got to tell you we've tried that road in a number of ways w/less than stellar results. I can't tell you how many cabinets we threw in the dumpster after jobbing out that very approach with prototypes to a number of shops (we don't want to offer something in production until we know it works). Sometimes they'd come in less than perfect from the start (MDF needs a TON of prep to be ready for this process). And sometimes they'd look good out of the gate and then give it a few months, move between a few humidity zones and watch the finish crack and go to you know where. One particular set of samples looked great for two years, then the spiders started appearing . . .  So that approach might  be fine for DIY where you can do it again if you need to.

The Piano Gloss finish we currently use is 15 steps and VERY labor intensive, more so than a great veneer job. But it is a process we're confident will continue looking great for years.

Thanks for bringing it up!