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
Loomisjohnson,
Polarizing, yet not 'ugly' as some threads can become.
I find B&W's 'house sound', to be very colored, to the point of being annoying.
Having designed speakers, I know that it's not that hard to eliminate such colorations...I can't fathom why this supposedly august group of engineers would release their products with this very strong house sound.
Neutrality is good for Switzerland AND loudspeakers.

Best,
Larry
Maybe because it sells products larry, something B&W does better than all others combined.

Regards,
One local dealer sells B&W speakers, but won't bother to bring in Classe electronics, which, imo is bass-ackwards !
Listen to a B & W CM10 which sounds fantastic at a price below the 804D, 803D,802D and 800Ds which ALL sound great. I suspect your snobbishness has gotten the better of you. Oh and there are other hi fi bargains such as the Rega turntable, The OPPOS 103 and 103D CD/DVD players, Kimber Kable 4TC and 8TC but you would have to listen and the $$$ might no be enough for you, Cheers