Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners speaker finish choices

For walnut in high gloss

https://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php/galleries/439964/new-m5hps-arrived

I ran a test on the speaker finish wood samples we received. The Boston cherry looked a bit dull and the two walnut pieces both felt as if they didn't have any urethane/polyacrylic on them at all. Putting a drop of water on the surface resulted in beading indicating there is a finish, but perhaps it was a single quick coat. Not knowing for sure, i sent an email to Axiom to enquire.

Wondering what the glossier finish would look like, i used a water based, clear, semi-gloss polyacrylic on a strip of the three samples we were considering for final colours.
The resulting difference is rather stark and frankly i'm very inclined to have a semi-gloss finish applied to the speakers. The biggest standout was for the Boston cherry followed by the walnut in espresso.

The pics were taken with a Pixel 2 under HT room lighting (4100k wall sconces, no windows) with the original vinyl wrap Boston cherry speakers behind. (if you right click on the image in the post and select 'view image' you can get a bigger close up view)

Added an image with a room that includes a window, outdoor lighting. Cloudy day.
The indirect light almost reflects more of the matte finish giving it an even whiter, almost whitewashed look. Although the semi gloss can provide more reflections, the matte finish still has a sheen that does the same. However, when you get a less reflected light, you see what you see now; the semi gloss really stands out, makes the grain and colours just pop!