I can see the apprehension over staining an already attractive wood grain/color.

The mockup of the rosewood/espresso on the website looks very classy to me. I already have Rosewood in high gloss, but looking back Espresso would have been striking too. smile

I have an older pair of bookshelves in Zebrawood with high gloss epoxy finish. Stunning. I miss that wow factor in my listening room.