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

I have read many opinions on these speaker's and was able to hear them using my test CD's.

There system:
Rotel Reciever($1600)
Tranparent Cable($2600)
CDM 1 & 7's(?) NT($1100)

My System:
B&K ST-202 Modifed($850)
Rotel Pre-Amp RC-960
Phillips CD-80
NEAR M15's-AQ Blue Inigo Cable
Monster Ref.30 CD-Pre Cable
AQ Ruby

Could not produce some of the sounds that were true to real lifelike

To bad they do not make NEAR's anymore!Remarkable speaker still for the money!I have since updated the Woofer\Midrange Driver's with a test Metal type and they extend far deeper in the Bass with Pinpoint Accuracy through the soundstage.Either speaker contends for less $$ than the B&W Line to the $2000 speaker range easy!The M50's are next to come to compare with.Wilsons,Hales in the used sector I would venture with.
In newer speaker's there are some I have auditioned and would like to audition!Revel,JMR,ProAc's,Meadowlarks.Von Schweikert's,ACI's to name a few!
JMHO

OK, I promised to go out and listen to both Naim and Linn systems. I heard a NAIM system whose retail cost is about $11,000 and a Linn one of about the same cost on the same day within minutes of each other with the same music material.

The Naim sounded very much like the "feeling" of live orchestral music. Not the same dynamic range, but the over all tonal balance and character of acoustic instruments in a real space was captured quite well. No spatial or visual ability at all. I believe imaging is not even on the list of goals at Naim.

The Linn system sounded just horrible. Sorry to say this, but it sounded worse than a well set up mid-fi system (second system) I have at home. The Linn system sounded splashy, fatiguing, terribly out of balance with itself, poor bass, confused midrange, etc. I chalk this up to poor room conditions and inattentive setup by the dealer. A much cheaper Musical Fidelity and Dynaudio monitor-based system at the same dealer sounded embarrassingly better. I only report what I heard.

I am sure Linn makes very good gear. I have heard other Linn stuff on other occasions and they did NOT sound as bad. If fact they sounded quite subdued and polite--a la typical English stereotypes.

As for Linn speakers taken out side of a Linn system context, I would like to try them out. There are just so few opportunities to do this.

Back to Naim. I noticed that lots of audio folks get Naim electronics but pair them with non-Naim speakers. If I had to guess, I would say this is so that the listener can get some imaging going with all the Naim musicality thrown in. Naim and Spendor seem to be popular with the Art Dudley - Listener Magazine group.

This recent experience and others in the past lead me right back to where I have been spending most of my efforts: tubed pre- and power-amps, efficient speakers, and an turntable front end. This, to me, represents the cheapest, most direct way to get to the most realistic and gratifying musical experience from reproduced sound.

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.

Am I the only one who thinks Linn is the Bose of the high end?

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.
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