This is the absolute truth. If it works for you, great! If not, well, your search must just continue. Ignore anyone who gives you a positive or negative absolutist tale about Brooks saddles, or any other. You just need to find what works for you.

There are some 'diagnostic' questions that are worth thinking about. One is related to handlebar height. I think if the bar is too low (more than a few cm below the saddle) you might be bending too much for a B17. People seem to like it best with the bars nearly level with the saddle.

Another is related to fore-aft placement. High perineal pressure, pain, and numbness suggest that the saddle is too far back and you are sliding forward - remember, it's slick. When you slide forward your sit bones move away from the wide area of the saddle, where they can be supported. Instead your weight becomes supported by the softer middle areas, which is a bad situation. I use a B17N, and a Pro, and I don't find tilting the nose up to help me in any way. To protect your investment, experiment a bit more with positioning. What works best for you might not be what works well for others here. I also think Brooks gave some pretty good guidance in the booklet that was packed in the box, for how to adjust the saddle for comfort, better than much of what is on the Internet.

Don't mess with the tension screw or the proofide, beyond what Brooks says.