Prior or current owners of PSB Stratus Gold

The Golds can present very good detail.

To me, getting them to sound right is more a question of the amplifier you pair with them. Unfortunately, in my experience, most owners will never get to really hear their Gods because of their amplifier not being able to make the speaker come alive.

If you're happy enough with the aesthetics of the speaker, and not in a mood to just try something else, I'd encourage you to try a different amplifier instead. The Carver/Sunfire products are particularly recommended as being synergistic with the speakers.

Trelja,
I have heard that the Golds respond to different amplifiers. Is it a question of power, current, solid state or tubes.
Has anyone tried bi-amping with solid state bass and tube mid/treble?

They really are a nice sounding speaker all round. I do have my eye on some JM Labs Utopias, but its a pretty big jump in price, even used.

I had a pair of the Gold around 1988 or so.

I powered them with 200 watt mono block solid state amps.

I thought it was moving forward in sound from a pair of Vandersteen 2c,but it wasn't.

The Vandersteens are still a bargain and I wouldn't hesitate to go back to them with the newer edition.

I can't say that about the Golds.

PSB has come along ways also, and todays newer PSB speakers are also a good buy.
I haven't heard them however.
I have heard the newer Vandies.

What are your current upstream components and cabling? Any speaker can sound more detailed if the upstream componentry is faster--i.e., has wider bandwidth and faster rise time.

I suspect that if you bi-amp with wide bandwidth Oddysey amps and Kimber or Zu cable, you'd get more detail from your current Golds. You could also look into re-wiring your speakers with silver. It all comes down to which is the more cost-effective upgrade. You might even contact PSB and/or Madisound to see if there are more detailed drop-in replacement midranges (and perhaps tweeters).

If you want smooth tonal balance, smooth but airy highs, transparent midrange, and clean tight extended bass without breaking the bank, look into the GoldenEar Triton 2 floorstanders at a list price of $2500. They're also very amp friendly.

I have a pair of gold i's and am having debates if I want to upgrade speakers. I pulled out the crossover in one speaker and the parts on it are not all that great, so I am concidering upgrading the caps on the crossover to see if it gives me better and a little smoother highs. Plus there are electrolytics where polys can be used and I bet the sound will be better. I have a pair of Mirage M1's also that I recieved not to long ago. I have upgraded the tweeters and woofers to SI drivers. The sound is more open but the bass is hard to adjust in my room. I have heard a pair of B&W 802d's and like those but the price tag is a little high for me to justify. If you like the speakers and dont want to spend a lot of money try replacing the caps on the crossovers. You can get Solen cap, poly, for around $35.00 each to replace the 100mfd 100 vac electrolyic caps, there are 4 on each board with a inexpensive 6 mfd poly and I think a 2.5 mfd poly that you might also want to replace. Just an Idea, to buy these speakers today would probably cost around $5000