Asethetics is a tricking thing when it comes to speakers. Yes, there are though speakers out there with nice wood finsih to them, but that's not always desirable. I showed my wife both the Ascends and the Onix Rockets and she preferred the Ascends because the black sort of disappears into the background. So, depending on how you look at it, "noticing" your speaker visually can be a good thing or bad. We just want to notice the sound.

Bradley