I had a tought time choosing between the two colors as well. I ended up w/ boston cherry.

Yes, they are rather brown, not a bright red by any means. I think they are very attractive though. I stayed away from black, just because no matter how well done it is, they just look cheap to me.

If you want, I can try to get some good pics of the speakers in my room, maybe a close up or two so you can see the real color. Its pretty hard to tell just by the pics listed on this website.