Yeah, but if Axiom were to offer real wood finishes, I only want them as an option with an upcharge. Yes, wood finishes, gracefully done, look very nice when new. But practically speaking, they can be pain in the butt to properly maintain. My old M&K's veneers, while looked gorgeous when they were new, started to peel off all over after several years. My decade-old Hales still look nice, but the color keeps subtly changing (which is painfully revealed when I remove the grills), and being a real wood, it is very susceptible to scratches and water marks.
And when it is "overdone," wood finishes can be very inelegant and ungainly. For instance, sorry for Rockets owners, but I cannot possibly be fond of their "artsy" wood finishes at all...
As for the psychology of "fake vs. real" things, in my sense ALL veneers are "fake" after all. To me, the only "real" wood material is solid wood, which does not fulfill the physical and acoustical requirements as a speaker cabinet material.
I do not know (yet) how well Axiom's vinyl veneers hold on to the initial colors/appearance over long years, without fading off etc. But given the very decent quality of the current finishes, I might well buy them in vinyl finishes again even if wood finishes were available.
