If you like the color of the pine I'd suggest you might consider natural maple and white washed maple instead (unless you or sig. other are really into knots
). The color is somewhat similar It's just a nicer cleaner wood IMO. I have maple in my family room and really like it.
We were looking at buying the refurb LFR presently up in the Deals which are in natural pine which is why we got those two colour samples. I am a fan of the whitewashed more as is the wife. For the media room it will still be Boston cherry. Just like that colour. Unfortunately the natural pine is too yellow, country cottage look for our living area.
I have the natural walnut in satin on my subs and surrounds ... it looks just like your sample ... not much of a sheen. I have them in the HT and choose that color to blend in a bit ... in hind site I kind of wish I went with maple (just because I like it so much).
That wood would be fantastic on our main floor. The wine cellar ledge is an American Black walnut and has the same colouration, grain pattern. I've always liked it and i'm pretty sure i finished it in a semi-gloss (if it was satin, the sheen is more than i expected). Having this walnut grain on a bigger surface, bigger speaker, it would look outstanding as per Mojo's pics of his. I agree though that the satin stain seems fairly simple, not many coats perhaps?
I have satin on the Tannoys and they have a nice smooth finish that is definitely not high gloss, but looks very professional, very high end if you will.
On the gloss ... if the speakers are going in the front of the viewers you might want to think about refections ... They might be distracting while watching a movie ... the light and reflected movement tends to draw your attention.
I've seen the Monitor Audio Platinums up close and that gloss just makes the wood grain pop, but yes, in a bright room, you will have more reflections. So a 'mirror' finish for an extra $1000+ cost which looks like a piece of art or a subdued satin finish, less eye catching reflections with a more real wood feel?
I guess worst case one could take the speakers out to the garage and spray them with a coat of whatever gloss level finish they wanted. Look at Trevor's project and how well that came out. I have a local friend who has recoated a few of his speaker sets during refurbishing and they turned out well. Just need decent equipment and a good space without dust, controlled temp.
