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 to use 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’s a couple things to consider.

Pictures almost always show the wood veneer up close, but the veneer grain pattern will look very different from your seating position.  So focus on 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 are so varied in their color, texture, and grain structure that it is highly unlikely that any wood veneer we put on a pair of speakers is going to match the old hutch that your Grandmother passed down to you.  Contrast is good.

Don’t forget about texture.  Many wood 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.

I buy my real wood veneer from suppliers in raw form.  That is the actual thin leaves of veneer that have been cut from a log, or sometimes rotary-cut from the log.  The leaves are sequentially stacked, usually in 24 leaves 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 to the veneer that I get credit for.  They take the raw leaves and book-match them in pairs or quads of leaves to form a sheet.  To do this they carefully trim the length of each leaf and actually glue the thin edges together.  How I don’t know, but it’s impressive how tight they get this joint.  I often cannot find the seam as I’m doing my layout and cutting the panels.  Then they apply a thin paper backer to the leaves to provide stability to the panel.

This method of buying raw veneer and having it processed costs a lot more money than buying pre-made sheets, but I really like that I can choose the size, grain structure, and color of the veneer and then ask my processor to custom trim and layout the leaves to make panels look the way I want.  Well, at least as much as Mother Nature allows us to have what we want!

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 is available.  The pictures you see there are of the actual speakers in stock, not just generic photos.  My advice is to pick the pair that you connect with right away and don’t over-think it!  The more people you ask for an opinion, the more difficult it will be to make a choice.

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 that I have in stock, or by ordering veneer and having it processed for your speakers.  Please understand that there will be a wait time for your speakers – 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 would like to have put on your speakers is to scroll down the In-Stock webpage, and there you will see a wide selection of veneers we have used on ‘sold’ speakers.