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

Based on Neubilder's comments, it seems I will have to seek out another listen to some Linn systems. A local shop carries Linn--and B&W for that matter. While I am at it, I will try to get a better education about Naim. Both makers seem to have a cult-like appreciation that tends to be lost on the majority of the audio-addicted. Everything is worth another listen.

From my experiences with Rega and Ruark (my fave shop carries them and friends own both brands), I could possibly live with a system comprised of only these manufacturers' gear. (My personal bent currently is for tubes [pre- and power amps] and Coincident Speakers, but I am open to possibilities.)

Maybe I misunderstood something. Neubilder said, "Despite the Joseph's retail being almost twice that of the Keilidh's..." And then later in the same post, "...(since it has been discontinued the Keilidh can be had for roughly 25% of the new price of the Joseph)."

Which is it, 50% or 25% less?

Something else struck me as a odd: If I didn't pay too close attention to the sound of a system (as Neubilder suggests one should do when listening to a Linn system), would not most systems become fairly pleasing? Unless, of course, a system made some horrible mistake.

Again, we are encouraged to listen to a Linn system a certain way--maybe a 'non-audiophile' way (?). We are perhaps asked to focus on the tune, the music, and not sweat the details of the sound. That's legitimate because it should be about the music, right? Yes, but much cheaper gear than Linn will also convey this music-not-hifi message really well. Rega comes to mind.

I will seek out another go with Linn (and Naim). Maybe I'll 'get it.' Neubilder expresses his point of view well. He sounds credible. I will just have to hear it for myself.

Neubilder, I get the 50% and 25% less part, now. I read your statement earlier as '25% off' instead of '25% of.' I should have known better... Please accept my apologies for the aggravation I must have caused.

Kalan, the two Joseph RM22si and the RM25si floorstanders sell for 2500 and 3500 respectively. That is roughly 4x the price of a used pair of Keilidhs, which can be got for between 700 - 900$. Yes, I meant 25% of, not off of, the price of the Joseph's. That's the thing - apart from their flagship models, Linn speakers aren't that expensive.

I agree with you about Rega, they were also at the top of my list.

As for listening to a system, I'm not suggesting that you not let yourself be absorbed by the music. I just think it's important to know when to stop listening to gear and start enjoying music.

I've noticed a lot of audiogoners seem to regard music as little more than a tool to evaluate their gear; "such and such track will reveal the brightness of these cables blah blah..." - they seem to have lost sight of the fact that purpose of all of this is the music!

It seems to me to defeat the purpose if after the latest 'upgrade' one ends up sitting in the designated listening chair squinting in order to hear every subtle sonic difference that it made.

I remember back in the days of cassettes how after a session of making mixed tapes, I would often become tired of the music I just spent hours carefully recording.

I must admit, a lot of these points are things that I have to keep in mind for myself - as an audiophile (I think) we are all faced with the affliction of being fetishists to a certain extent.

From your description of the Linns is sounds like you listen to CDs. If you listen to LP, you may be dissapointed in comparison to other speakers (i was) that have more realistic dimensions to their sound, and a more extended frequency range. I can live without complaint without low bass, but the typical Linn is sad at the top (but not as sad as Ruark). If your reference is restricted to certain unamped events, I am sure the Linns will not reveal thier weakness too much. The inaccurate tonal balance that is their solution to long-term happiness runs in to a brick wall with Rock & orchestra. And Rock which to you has no reference, would be acceptable if the store was to offer a pair for half off. So, I agree with you, $700 is not bad. I am actually thinking about getting a pair for my dear mum, who just moved in to a house. She would like their politeness and ability to keep a good beat. As far as 'midrange clarity', what I think you mean is different from what I heard ( alot). Linns chase down every note and put a big stamp on them. Less colored than some, but more than others.

My Keilidhs sound better with my TT than my CDP - though I do mostly listen to CD's. I listen to a lot of small scale chamber music, jazz, tango, folk, orchestral, as well as electronica, wall-of-sound rock like Radiohead and Pulp, and occasionally pounding ambient electronica like Leftfield, underworld, faultline and even some metal like tool. They sound as good playing vinyl with fast beats and lots of deep bass as they do playing solo piano or a baroque chamber ensemble. Right now I am listening to Dvorak's Symphonic poems (on CD) with some very loud complex passages. The sense of scale you can get from a full scale orchestra played on big full range speakers is lacking in terms of thundering bass, but they still do well in other respects. They don't try to do anything that a speaker in this range can not realistically achieve.

Ohlala what would you recommend to someone with my tastes that would outperform the Linns for a similar price. If I could afford them (and if I didn't move around so much) I would probably look for a pair of big Pro-ac response 2.5's, Aerial 7's, Joseph's, or Audio Physic Virgos, but with my relatively modest budget don't you think that these beat the competition hands down? (at least when comparing apples to apples) (Please don't mention B&W's because I've been down that road and they just don't cut it for me.)