Am I going insane?

B&W is British for Bose.

I LOVE hearing direct comparisons made between B&W and Polk. ;-)

Gumby, I agree with you on most counts - even though I am a devout VW freak as well as a Linn freak. But not blindly so - and I continually re-evaluate my commitment to these brands. I agree that a companies ‘badge’ is only an indication of the products they produce. But as in the tradition of trademarks, craftsman’s guilds, etc, it can also represent a commitment to quality - as long as the company hasn’t sold out. My Jetta Diesel has taken me across the N. American continent twice, up and down the West Coast, East Coast, hell, my VW has taken me to almost every interesting city on the continent. It cost me 120$ in fuel plus 1Litre of oil to drive clear across N.A.- from Vancouver to NYC - 6000km!. I paid 2K for the blessed thing - and its still going strong 5 years later! (knock on wood) The amount I spend on my car every month including all maintenance, fuel, and original purchase price is 35% of what the average person spends on leasing some tacky GM, Nissan, etc. And it’s fun to drive! Fahrvergnuegen – everything is designed as it should be and operates for the experience of driving. I’m not saying it’s a high performance race car – but I don’t want a race car. I want good, basic, well designed, comfortable transportation, that is as high-performance as is logically possible given it’s intended function. I would drive my 86 jetta over ANY new american car in a second! After getting out of an american rental car, or a friend’s car, (Intrepid, Cavalier) - if I haven’t cut myself trying to put the key in the ignition, poked my eye out on the corner of the door getting out, or bruised my knees on the crappy gizmos sticking out all over the place, I am always relieved getting back into my VW. The new generations of VW’s are even better in some ways that the series II, and VW is now encroaching on BMW’s market share because they are so damn good. -
- …..Back to hi-fi. I started out (and still am) a Rega, Castle, Cyrus, Rotel fan. Then I listened to, and bought a used Majik. One step at a time Linn has won me over. The stuff sounds better to me than anything by any other brand that I could possibly afford, it is simple, elegant, discreet looking, it doesn’t subscribe to the hi-fi voodoo school of thought, (though some Linnies may), they don’t change their line-up with the seasons, it holds it’s value…In short, Linn (Clydebuilt) represents what the old school meaning of brand meant – in every respect – even down to the quality of the working environment of their employees. And the fact that they built their factory on reclaimed toxic wasteland that, thanks to Linn, has been restored back to forest and is the setting of thier tasty Richard Rogers(architect) designed factory, attests to this in the most convincing way.
I better get back to work, I've procrastinated long enough. But one last thing, If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!
- Just kidding , but I thinks pretty funny.

David Byrne said "The last good looking American car was made in (circa) 1962" - and I completely agree. But as good looking as they were back then, American cars were still behemoths.
I seriously can't think of one American car that I wouldn't trade in for a TDI as soon as it was in my possession. I like small efficient well designed things. I would love the additional power that the new TDI offers over the 54(!) hp that my Jetta has, but they managed to achieve that extra power with no sacrifice to efficiency.
By contrast every American car I can think of either:

1/ looks and drives like fridge,

2/ is a tacky, unrefined, overpowered, and under-controlled "sports car".

3/ is an (fn)S.U.V. or some sort of truck - most of which I would like to see get taxed off the road - unless they are being used for a legitimate purpose (delivery, trades etc.). (and no, having an SUV so that little Johnny is safe -because your vehicle is so big you can cream the other guy in an accident - doesn't count as a "legitimate purpose").

What does this have to do with HiFi? Nothing really I suppose. After all, Krells and Levinsons are fairly benign, just don’t drop one on your toe.

Gumby, that's the very one that I saw the devil driving around in the other day. I love the row of guages on the bar that helps to obscure things like pedestrians, motorcycles, other cars, etc. Heck, all those bumpy guages and other crap in your peripheral vision look just like a dear on the highway or an old lady crossing the street. But who cares! - cause they'd never ding the 3" of steel in the front of that thing anyhow! HaHa (cry)!

- I saw a Sota tt in HiFi+ a few months ago - it had the same arm as my Rega P2 and cost 10x more but damn that thing was beautiful. Apparently it sounded excellent too. If you can get it for a good price why not. My Linn system consists of a Karik III - (that I just bought used to replace my Mimik - but it's at linn right now getting serviced), Rega P2, Wakanda/Kudos module, 2 x LK 140 aktiv, Keilidh. I am also building a pair of Kabers using the leftovers from upgrades. Thay have the 3 bar ceramic tweeters and the most recent version of the Kaber mid/bass drivers. The cabinets are similar to the Audio Physic Tempo 3 with the 5 degree tilt. I haven't heard them with anything other than a cheap CD player and amp because I haven't wanted to take apart my active system - at least not until I get my Karik back and can hear them at their best. That project fulfills my need to tweak with things - and learn a lot about acoustics etc.