It’s a tough choice!

Yeah, I’m so glad I don’t have to choose! I’m lucky — I just go into my stock and pull out a pair of speakers in whichever veneer suits my fancy at the time. So I get to enjoy a variety of beautiful wood veneers in my system at home. But for you, the decision can be a difficult one. Here are a couple of things to consider.

Pictures almost always show the wood veneer up close, but the grain pattern will look very different from your seating position. So focus on the color and how busy or plain the veneer is first, then get into the details of grain structure and texture.
Don’t try to match other wood you have in your home. It almost never works. Wood species vary so much in color, texture, and grain structure that it’s highly unlikely any veneer we put on a pair of speakers will match the old hutch your grandmother passed down to you. Contrast is good.

Don’t forget about texture. Many veneers have beautiful texture that doesn’t always translate well through photographs. I’m right here looking at them, so just ask and I’ll help you decide.

Highest Quality

I buy my real wood veneer from suppliers in raw form — the actual thin leaves of veneer that have been sliced from a log, or sometimes rotary‑cut. The leaves are sequentially stacked, usually 24 per bundle, or “flitch” as it’s called. I buy a flitch and have it shipped to my veneer processor.

My processor does a lot of the work that I get credit for. They take the raw leaves and book‑match them in pairs or quads to form a sheet or panel. To do this, they carefully trim the width of each leaf and glue the thin edges together. How, I don’t know — but it’s impressive how tight they get the joint. I often can’t find the seam when I’m doing my layout and cutting the panels. Then they apply a thin paper backer to the leaves to provide stability.

This method of buying raw veneer and having it processed costs a lot more than buying pre‑made sheets, but I really like being able to choose the size, grain structure, and color of the veneer, and then ask my processor to custom‑trim and lay out the leaves to make the panels look the way I want — at least as much as Mother Nature allows!

Volti Audio primarily sells speakers that are completely finished and in stock. Please go to our In‑Stock page and have a look at what’s available. The pictures you see there are of the actual speakers in stock, not generic photos. My advice is to pick the pair you connect with right away and don’t overthink it. The more people you ask for an opinion, the harder it becomes to make a choice.

Choosing Your Veneer

If you just can’t find what you want from the speakers we have in stock, then let’s build a pair for you using veneer I already have, or by ordering veneer and having it processed for your speakers. Please understand that there will be a wait time — usually two to four months — and there may be an extra cost associated with this service.

A good way to find the type of veneer you’d like is to scroll down the In‑Stock webpage, where you’ll see a wide selection of veneers we’ve used on previously sold speakers.

Please note:  Due to the thickness of the Light Beige, Tan Mix Weave, and Gray cloths, if you play your music with the grills on and at a high volume level, it is possible for the air from the excursion of the woofer to cause the cloth to move against the wood frame of the grill, which can make a fluttering or buzzing noise.  We have had only one customer complaint about this.  He said it was happening at a moderate volume level with only one particular song that he likes to play often.  I sent him a pair of black stretch grills free of charge.  That’s when I added this note here and in my policies page, to let my customers know ahead of time that there is the slight possibility of a problem with these thicker grill cloths.  I don’t want to discourage you from buying these beautiful cloths, but just to warn you that if you play particular songs at a high volume level, you may have to remove the grills.  We do not have this problem with the more acoustically transparent cloths.