Either that or it's an all black finish, as opposed to the black/woodgrain finish.

That's interesting. If that's the case, I would have preferred an all black finish on my QS8s. I'm still in the (slow) process of replacing all my old Sony speakers with Axioms. Next on my list is the VP150. I guess I'll get it in the (now) Custom Black Oak to match the QSes.

I'm hoping the Custom Black Oak will continue to be available at no additional cost for the foreseeable future.

For those that are interested, here is the response I received from Axiom:

"This change is relevant only for Axiom owners of Black Oak speakers looking to complete their system. The difference is subtle between the two finishes but different enough to be apparent when the two are side by side. The former Black Oak had silver nuances in the wood grain; the new one does not."

Éric, the former Black Oak standard finish is labelled Custom Black Oak and is the last item on the "Choose your Custom Finish" drop dowmn menu list. In reality, this finish should be useful only for Axiom owners wanting to complete their system. Axiom will take measures to notify Axiom owners of Black Oak products of the change.

Any word on how long the Custom Black Oak vinyl will be available at no additional cost? I'd like to have my 7.1 setup finished by the end of this year, but there's no guarantee, and I'm buying it a speaker or two at a time.

I just placed my order for the Axiom speakers. Thanks for the help everyone. I'll be sure to post pictures of the setup when I get them.

You'd better. It's The Law.

(And congratulations!)

Congratulations on your Axiom Audio purchase zero002021. May great sound be with you .

how is the denon working out for you?

The Denon is working great so far. I have the following devices connected to it:

Component:
- Xbox 360
- Nintendo Wii
- Verizon FiOS / Motorola Cable Box

HDMI:
- PlayStation 3
- Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player

I have the receiver set to output everything through HDMI. It does a great job with the HDMI pass-through/scaling. There is no noticeable degradation in image quality.

My two previous receivers were Onkyos, so it took me a few days to get used to the menus/user interface on the Denon, but it's easy to use now that I'm familiar with it.

The iPod/MP3 player support is nice to have and works well. I was able to plug my iPhone in through the USB port on the front of the receiver, and it detected it and let me listen to all the music on the iPhone. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to test the HD Radio, as reception in my basement isn't very good with the included antenna.

If you have any specific questions about the receiver, let me know and I'll answer if I can.