Various quotes:
"....i like mine."
"For me...it is completely the bomb in comfort."
"...and thought I would switch to the more comfortable B17. Well, it was a no Go! I can't ride on a saddle that wide on a road bike."
"My Brooks B-17 is the most comfortable saddle I've ever owned. I doubt I'll ever go back to another kind of saddle."
"Soooooooo, after >800 miles, I finally decided I wasn't a Brooks kind of guy."
Looks like one size doesn't fit all. Part of what appealed to me was all that goofy traditional stuff. Real leather, that nutty "presentation" box the saddle comes in, etc. But I liked the feel of the saddle from day one, even though it's only got about 400 miles on it, with no rides over about 40 miles so far. I'm planning on an MS 150 and a century or two this year, so it will be interesting to see how the various parts hold up. Or don't.
I'm a little surprised this thread hasn't taken off on how to condition the saddle. One of the things the Proofide people tell you is that you shouldn't use anything with any oils in it, since the oils will clog up the pores in the saddle and make it so the leather won't breathe any more. Proofide is made of beeswax, which, they say, doesn't do that. This is all from the Proofide folks, so it's all just FWIW. Previous threads have suggested some pretty exotic break-in methods--soaking the saddle in water, slathering oil all over it, that sort of thing.
Cheers.