whats the best addition u have bought for system

I would look into changing out the receiver for either seperates or an int. amp./tuner. I would not change the cables. You have very nice spks. that need better amplification. Recently, I changed out the stock spk. binding posts on my Rega Brio 3 Int. amp. to BP Hex's. The Brio sounded superb before but now the sound is absolutely better. Smoother, warmer, less grain, more detail w/o any brightness. I just noticed in today's listing that two NOS Rega int. amps are being offered. I would definately give them some serious consideration. Best Regards, Bill.

Going from an Acurus preamp to a Classe preamp.

Maybe think about going compter audio and build up you music library. Your system seems nicely balanced and you might have to spend a lot more money to make a small difference in sound. With all your cd's available at the touch of a mouse it will make you listening time more fun.

How are you using your Pioneer Elite receiver? Are you using it to power a 2-channel system, or are the PSB Stratus Golds part of a 5- or 5.1 channel surround system?

What kind of disc player do you have? What year is it from?

Are you reasonably satisfied with the PSBs' tonal balance and how they fill the room?

If you are using the Elite receiver in a 2-channel system, can you re-route the channels to bi-amp the PSBs?

Here's what I'm getting at: From what you've described, your PSB Stratus Golds are the best component in your system. The Pioneer Elite was a very good surround receiver when it came out, and Pioneer Elite stuff tends to be well built and sounds good, but your Stratus Golds could perform to a higher level with the right amplification behind them.

I found the specs on your receiver, and the power is rated down to 6 ohms, but the PSBs are spec'd as 4 ohm speakers. I have heard the PSB Stratus Golds in an extensive audition, and I have long (12 years) experience as owner of another large, floorstanding ported loudspeaker, the Mirage M5si.

Although the Stratus Gold is spec'd at 87dB, the Stereophile review measured them at 84dB. When you combine this low sensitivity, low impedance, and port-loaded 10" woofer, you need a wide bandwidth, high wattage, high current amp with high damping factor and very low output impedance to bring out the best in your speakers. Or a pair of such amps, since they are bi-wirable. I noticed an improvement in clarity, dynamics, and transparency when I biamped my Mirages.

If you go with a single amp, I recommend something that puts out 250 to 300 watts/channel into 4 ohms, and is comfortable at running into low impedance loads for long periods. I have heard really good things about a reasonably priced line of amps from the Pro Audio industry (provided you give them 120 hours of break-in). I have not personally heard the ART Audio SLA4, but it looks like it might be an economical approach to get an amp that elevates the performance of the PSBs. The SLA4 is a 4-channel amp that would puts out 140 wpc x 4 into 4 ohms. Or one of the high-powered, high current Parasound power amps would work well with these speakers.

From there, you would want to pick a preamp that is a good match to your amplification, and a disc player that provides the best sound you can afford to the downstream components. Instead of spending a lot on a disc player, you might want to get an Oppo DV-980H or DV-983H and feed the digital stream to a Benchmark DAC1 or LavryBlack DA10. The Benchmark is supposedly immune to incoming jitter. The Lavry website has several pdf whitepapers about Lavry's design philosophy, including a paper that describes his approach to jitter reduction and control.