2. speakers
  3. 147425-129644

PSB - Stratus Gold(i) vs Totem Acoustic - Sky towers

So here's the story. Yesterday I bought a pair of Totem Acoustic Sky towers for 2400$. I am pairing them with my NAD C372 Integrated. I am really enjoying the sound. They seem like a decent step up in realism and accuracy from my Paradigm Monitor 7 v7s. 

Of course, about 10 minutes after i get home and set up, someone posts an add for a used pair of PSB Stratus Goldi's - asking 950$ CAD. I have heard pretty good things about PSB, and like Totem they are a product of my Canadian brethren. 

Does anyone have any experience with either set of tower speakers? I know the Sky's are relatively new, so maybe not too many people have had a chance to sit with them for very long. For the dastic price difference due to the PSBs being used I m wondering if I might just be able to get performance close to or maybe even better than the Sky towers out of the Goldi's considering the pairing with the NAD C372.

Tonaly the Skys seem very transparent, very clean, lots of detail but still smooth and warm with the soft dome 1.3 inch tweeter (unique to the sky towers). They dig deep and give a punchy, solid bass without over emphasizing the lows or mids. Voices sound as close to being in the room with you as I have ever experienced, keeping in mind my only other real comparison is a pair of Paradigm 5se Mk IIs, and a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7 v7s. Both of which suffer from a slight boomy quality to the human voice.

 
rookiophile
rookiophile OP
9 posts
 
Room size may be the biggest factor to consider. My apartment is 650 square feet total. The room they are is a considerable portion of that and i thankfully have concrete walls with an air gap for sound deafening, but the Gold(i)s are massive from what I understand and perhaps just outright too big for the apartment all together. Still I'm going to have to at least give them a chance given the price difference. Thank you for your input sir.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Gold is old and Sky was better in first place .
rookiophile OP
9 posts
 
Do you have any personal experience with either speaker Schubert? Also with a name like that I'd expect you to put a little less emphasis on something's age as a determining factor of quality.

For anyone interested I actually ended up picking up the Gold(i)s (only 880$ CAD - they did get ambushed by a cat but the damage is barely noticeable.) and will be comparing the two towers over the next few weeks before i eventually sell the Gold(i)s, simply because at about 4x the size of the Totem Sky's they are too gargantuan for my apartment.


rookiophile OP
9 posts
 
Well my first impressions are a little bit different than I would have Predicted. My assumption was that The PSBs would not hold a candle the musical accuracy of the Totem SKys...I may be wrong about that.

On a couple recordings I heard details coming through the PSBs such as shimmering tambourines and maracas that I could barely notice with the Totem Skys, and that to be was an incredible surprise. The PSBs also bring a substantially deeper bass range to the table although that was to be expected given the immense size difference, and the 3 way system for PSB using a 10 inch woofer.

I am not ready top call it yet as it's still early in the game and there's also a factor of having a really tough time trying to find good position to test these...The PSBs are too massive to move around often and the Skys are stuck sitting on the outside, too far away from the wall to be considered good placement. Still i can't see that making the differencd when it comes to detail in the higher register such as the tambourine and maracas mentioned earlier.

I am very surprised by the results so far. Will keep updates coming, and hope to hear from some others and their experiences with either the Skys or the Goldis
james_edward
119 posts
 
Please update us as you enjoy music through both speakers. So much in this hobby/obsession is confounding and unexpected. I am a textbook example of 40 years of dashed expectations, so tread carefully, and emphasize the purchase of music you love over the equipment you covet. 
More to discover