How about doing the stained top and bottom that you mentioned, and then go to your local upholstery place, and pick up some decent looking vinyl to cover the main portion of the speaker with. There should be some pretty decent vinyl that comes close to the look of leather that shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg either.
Upon further contemplation...if I were going to veneer, what would be a good place to buy from? I've looked on ebay, but it's hard to find anything wide & long enough to cover the fronts (11"x49") in one sheet, nevermind the sides (18"x49").
10 mil paper backed are a good choice if you are going to bond via contact cement.
What you linked to on ebay actually looks nice. Veneers are something that can be inexpensive to VERY expensive, depending on size and species, etc.
Do a search here, there are links posted to tutorials on what is involved in a good veneering job.
Some folks like contact cement, others like to use glue and a vacuum press, while others do a yellow glue to dry, then iron on (to activate the glue) the veneer to the substrate MDF. All are good valid techniques.
I got material for my first veneering project from www.tapeease.com. I would suggest the 10 mil paperbacked. Looks like you'll need 2 4x8 sheets. If you are going to wrap the speakers in one piece you'll need to put a roundover on the edges. And get help to lay the speaker on the veneer because once it touches the contact cement it is stuck for good.
Just looked at your speaker dimensions and 48 inches won't be enough to go all the way around. If you roundover the front edges 48" will just cover the front and sides and you could veneer the back with a separate piece. Or if the back soesn't show just leave it raw or paint it black.
I emailed tapeease.com and they say they'll do 5'x10' sheets, which should cover both enclosures with one sheet.
I have searched for veneering tips in the past and came across the one about using elmers wood glue and ironing. Would this be the preferred method over contact cement?
Wow...I didn't realize there would be such a premium for larger sheets. Maple apparently goes from $1.18/sq ft to $3.87/sq ft when going from a 4'x8' sheet to a 5'x10' sheet...
Better off to get another 4x8 or a 4x4 sheet if you need the extra material.
If you plan on using the contact cement method, you need to get the paper backed veneer. If you plan on using glue, the paper backing isn't necessary. I haven't tried the glue / iron method yet, but I might give it a whirl sometime in the future. I'm actually thinking about making some small speaker for my computer (office at home) in a 5.1 format. I need to find a good small reciever first. But I might try this method when I do that.
Well, I ended up buying this veneer, it looks pretty nice. Been spending the last couple days off and on getting them prepped to put it on. I'm going to try the wood glue iron on method... :b