Am I the only one who thinks B&W is mid-fi?


I know that title sounds pretencious. By all means, everyones taste is different and I can grasp that. However, I find B&W loudspeakers to sound extremely Mid-fi ish, designed with sort of a boom and sizzle quality making it not much better than retail quality brands. At price point there is always something better than it, something musical, where the goals of preserving the naturalness and tonal balance of sound is understood. I am getting tired of people buying for the name, not the sound. I find it is letting the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In these times of dying 2 channel, and the ability to buy a complete stereo/home theater at your local blockbuster, all of the brands that should make it don't. Most Hi-fi starts with a retail system and with that type of over-processed, boom and sizzle sound (Boom meaning a spike at 80Hz and sizzle meaning a spike at 10,000Hz). That gives these rising enthuists a false impression of what hi-fi is about. Thus, the people who cater to that falseified sound, those who design audio, forgetting the passion involved with listening, putting aside all love for music just to put a nickle in the pig...Well are doing a good job. Honestly, it is just wrong. Thanks for the read...I feel better. Prehaps I just needed to vent, but I doubt it. Music is a passion of mine, and I don't want to have to battle in 20 yrs to get equipment that sounds like music. Any comments?
mikez
I don't think B&w's are mid-fi at all. I'm currently running the krell kas with the 801 matrix's. Sounds hi-fi to me. But who cares about hi-fi or mid-fi. Its all about love for music.
i've listened to various b&w's and haven't felt good about any of em. My impression for all of them is that they are too warm, and too warm (to me) means too colored. Listening is such a fragile exercise because our feelings that day, our life philosophies, and too many other factors to recount, all play a huge role in our interpretations. I, for instance, prefer to hear honesty coming out of a box or planar or what have you. Coloration, to me is tantamount to the labcoat boys tampering with something that was intended to be left alone and simply passed on to my ears from the studio. I like triangle speakers. incredible accuracy. Next week, who the hell knows what i'll like.
br
Just bought a pair of B&W802,s and they are definitly not mid-fi you must be driving them with inferior electronics or listening in your closet. They are accurate, and image incredibly. they are one the best sounding speakers I have Heard!,as do most of the audiophile community. Talk about detail!!! They only get better,with upgrades comes better sound. reassess your system, and fix the weak link.
Poloman, I agree 100%. I've still been thinking about this thread as I have N804.
Mikez is probably hearing mid-fid electronics which B&W faithfully reproduce.