solid all round preformance

too few to mention

I purchased my fisrt pair (psb stratus golds) in 1998 and loved them so much that I had to buy their brothers the goldis, $1200 a pair.

Like I said, I'm only an enthusiest and love good sound. I'm driving them with a nad 218 thx amp using a yamaha rxv1 as a preamp.

I do not understand it but when I ran just one pair (4ohm load) my amp got really hot. Now that I run them in series my amp doesn't get as hot.

After reading these reviews I was going to bi-wire but now ,with Christmas comming, I'm going to bi-amp.

Wow, now I will have a real toy. Mono block verses bi-amp. I fear that I'm going to have to spend a small fortune on cables.

Like I said the weaknesses are to few to mention, but if you consider a sub a weakness then it would be one of the few. I trully believe that you need a dedicated sub for frequecies below 30hz. I have a external crossover that drives my two paradygm servo 15s at this low frequency. If I increase the frequency then the sound turns to mud . As a result ,the gain to the subs is low so that the bass only has power reinforcement and really isn't applied to music. The subs are really for home theatre use only.

As you can see I like music that moves me and the brothers gold do thi quite well.

PS I hired a interior decorator to make me some elaborate silk plants to beautify the two black towers on each side and she did a marvolous job. My wife even said so. Just to let you know the room that there in is about 500 square feet

Similar Products Used:

accustic reaserch 1,JMlabs@7000/pair,polk audio 3000,paradigm monitor9s

Buil Quality, sound clarity, base response.

none ive found

excellent set of speakers period! you cant get a better sounding or a better built speaker in this price range,have to spend big bucks to get the same performance , ive tested lots for example the Parading Studio Rferance 100's they sound good but i think if you truly listen to the two of them side by side you will come to the same conclusion, deeper base, tighter control,over all better dynamics.and they look nicer also. check thease speakers out they perform great on all kinds of music and they will sound better if you use better electronics and cables , but they also sound very imprssive right out of the box. and look great blend in very nice in any decor with real wood veneer. go and treat your self to a listen and enjoy.

Similar Products Used:

psb stratus silver

nice all around speaker,great quality build,solid wood

somewhat cloudy midrange did not make up for its strengths.
Almost sold me but lacked image quality of B&W

I listened to them but decided not to take them home, they did not blow me away like the B&W 803's. I think the midrange was nice but it got a little cloudy to my ears and was lacking in some detail on classical strings.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 803,804,Monitor gold 20,Vienna Acoustic Beethoven,Sonus Faber Grand Piano

Clean,detailed, High end sound at reasonable price

Can be a touch bright in my set up, but just barely.

I bought my gold i's about 6 months ago, and when I got them fired up for the first time, my wife left the room in very real disgust! They were shrill, very harsh; bordering on unlistenable. My audio dealer was going to get them back the next morning! I hated them!
But then, I was going from a very civilized English loudspeaker(Radford 360) that was getting long in the tooth, ragged in the grill, and loose in the bass;
I decided to give the PSB's the benefit of the doubt. I have their century 400's, and the way they sound was the reason I looked into PSB to begin with.
I experimented with placement, and, after all this time, have found that they are best about 4 feet out from the back wall and 3 feet out from the side wall. With the tweeters aimed at each ear, the detail is incredible. I have found hockey pucks to be better than cones or spikes. Remove the grills; they seem to do nothing but restrict the high end! When I first found this, I was shocked at how big a diifference it made!
They are very pleasant to listen to now; they play at realistic levels very well; keeping detail and standing up well to heavy orchestra. They present a solid image and give good front to back. And most importantly, my wife loves them now!
Can't comment on value in terms of comparisons to more costly designs; they were better to my ear than the Antals, Revel F-30's, and some Pro-ac's. But then, I've heard none of these in my home with my walls, wiring, and equipment, so I wouldn't put too much faith in that observation.
The recent addition of a PS Audio power plant 300 to my electronics has given the speakers more weight, air, even more detail, and brought out in them all the things I thought they lacked, just as the installation of Rollerblocks under my cd player brought out a deeper, more tuneful bass and an overall fuller, clearer sound.
I have to say, after trying all this time to eliminate the glare we first heard 6 or so months ago, we've done a great job!

Main stuff: Alchemist Forsetti amp, Sonic Frontiers Line 2 pre-amp, Arcam Alpha 9 CD

Similar Products Used:

none

Plays with the big boys......an all around performer that does everything well.

Great Midrange and Bass. Truly full range speakers.

Big and dominate the room. Need a decent power amp. Treble somewhat bright with my Krell Integrated/Receiver.

Have owned the Stratus Gold Is for about 7 months. They provide a great midrange (slightly warm) and bass (tight and well controlled) and are highly musical. Extended highs sound great with Jazz recordings but can be slightly bright with violins and strings on classical recordings, but I think this is more the fault of my Krell KAV300r receiver than the PSB's. Rated Class B by Stereophile and I totally agree. For the money they provide a great value for anyone looking for a musical full range speaker. I currently have them set up as stereo only but they should also prove great for Home Theater without a sub. They are not shy speakers and are able to play loud (great on orchestral recordings).

They are 4 ohms and do need a solid state amp with some oomph to drive them cleanly, like my 150 W (300W into 4 Ohms) Krell. They are large speakers and tend to dominate the room.

I am giving them 4 stars only to allow for the speakers 2 rungs above them (Wilsons, B&W Nautilus 801s etc) but they certainly deserve 5 stars in their price class and should be a must listen for anyone looking for speakers in the under $4000 range.

Associated equipment:
Panasonic A310 and Marrantz CD67SE (Transports)
MSB Link DAC II
Cardas Crosslink interconnect and MIT Terminator II interconnects
Krell KAV300r
MIT Terminator II biwire
PSB Stratus Gold i

Similar Products Used:

NHT 2.9, Tempo III, B&W 805 Nautilus, Meadolark Shearwaters, ML Aerius i, ML SL3s, ProAc Tablette 50, Totem Sttaf, B&W DM630 (predecessor to 603s, my old speakers)

tight bass, good midrange, crisp high end, bi-wireable, looks , price, ability to play anything

a little too bright, needs about 200 watts to really shine, size

I bought these to replace a pair of JBL 4430 studio monitors. The 4430's have a bi-radial horn and a 15' woofer and are quite large. I love this speaker for it's bass, but I was finally getting my home theater together and was having a hard time trying to find rears to match the front end. JBL doesn't make a Pro speaker that's small enough for home use. So I had problems. A friend from work introduced me to a couple of guys who were just starting their own home theater company. They told me that the JBL was too big (wide) for what they had planned in my room. They suggested I try PSB. I had never heard of them and thought I'd give them a try because the JBL thing was not working and my listnening was maturing so I need a speaker that could reproduce what I missing. I bought the bronze. Great speaker, but not enough bass. So, the search for the "perfect speaker" was on. I've listened to: boston acoustics 950; dynaudio contour 3, audience 60 and the evidence; paradigm; monitor audio silver 5 and 9, nht, martin logan, and the psb goldi. I took in a WIDE selection of music to use for reference. (I'll give a list at the end of this review.) Being both an audio enthusiast and a musician, I was very critical as to what I was listening for. I wanted to hear breath, spit, clicking pads, picks hitting strings, hi-hat stands sqeaking, bows rubbing strings, the subtle things going on in funk and disco music and all importantly the bass. I also wanted to build a quasi audiophile system. The only speakers that gave me that were the dynaudio evidence, which were out of my price league (85k), the contour 3 and the golds. The contours were beautiful. I felt like I should've been in a million dollar house drinking wine or something. That was how I felt listening to them. Jazz and classical were rich sounding. The country selections I took were incredible with the guitar. There was like a three dimensional thing going on. The rock, funk and hip-hop stuff were good too, but the funk and hip-hop had no authority. The bass was not as sharpand full as the goldi. And I didn't feel "dirty" when listening to the blues selections. What nailed it for the golds was it's 10" woofer vs. the contour's two 6", the price, the reviews here on audioreview and the all important audition. Besides, I already had the psb bronze and a c6 center and if I bought the contours I would have had to start from scratch and would have had to get a second job (would've been 10 to 15k to buy 2 pair and a center and sub!).
Upon listnening to the golds, there was ample tight bass, good detail (funk music shines on these speakers) crisp highs, excellent soundstage and imaging. (I had my center speaker setup in between when I took my first audition at home and at one point I had to get up to see if the center speaker was on because it sounded like the vocals was coming from the center speaker.) The mid range is excellent with acoustic guitar stuff. Piano is very good as well. While playing Keith Jarret's version of "All the things you are" from his "Tibute" cd, I was able to hear him use the dampening pedeal just under his grunting. They can be a little bright on rock 'n roll recordings but that is just because rock recordings are naturallly bright and weak in the bass anyway. If you love jazz, you'll love these speakers. Wind instruments (saxes, oboes, clarintes) are nice and warm. You hear the spit, the breath (especially if you're a Leater Young fan) and the clicking pads. Trombones are warm and lush while the trumpets have their bite and growl. Stand up bass has warmth and you can hear the strings slapping the neck. And, if you're lucky enough, you can hear someone grunting/humming as they solo. Electric guitars sound full and gritty and if it's a blues guitar like Robben Ford, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, or Roy Buchanan it's dirty and devilish.
From classical to punk, this speaker does it all and very well. Some of the other speakers I mentioned may have better detail, but you compromise either bass, price or both. As said by others, the golds are power hungry. I had a mcintosh 7106 amp when I first bought the golds. The 7106 is a six channel x 100 amp. When I used it with the JBLs, I would bridge it so it had three channels of 300 watts. Now with the home theater, I would have to use it giving each speaker 100 per channel. The golds really lost bass with 100 watts. I tried a clase 150 amp. Weak. I was going to try the bryston 4b, but had a problem using my credit card. I thought about using the 7106 for the rears, center, and zone and buying another amp (maybe a bryston, plinius or perreaux) to put on the golds, but that, to me, would be just too much. So I bought an ead powermaster 1000 and wow! The bass I lost was back and had a little bit better detail. My next move is to wire the whole system with tmc cable. Right now I have transparent on them and they're too bright. They are not bi-wired.I will bi-wire with the tmc.
This speaker is for those who want a full range speaker that does everthing well and has a good price. This speaker is bi-wireable if that is a concern. If you're wondering if the 10" woofer will give you enough bass, the answer is yes. If you have a preamp that has a tone control (treble/bass) you can get all the bass you want! If you have seperates and you have a less than 200 watt amp you might need to use a sub with the golds. If you have any questions you can e-mail me at titustolson@yahoo.com. I am a real person with a love for music. I do not work for any company. I am a regular joe six pack. Here is my music reference list and my associated components.And please do yourself a favor and give these a listen. I know the favorites are the paradigm, the dynaudio, and the nht, but try something different in your life for once. You may be surprised!

Reference Music Used:

Jazz:
Bill Evans - "What is this thing called love?" from "Portrait in Jazz"

Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery - "Down By The Riverside" & "Nighttrain" from "The Dynamic Duo"

Keith Jarrett Trio - "All The Things You Are" from "Tribute"

Ricki Lee Jones- "Dat Dere", "Up From The Skies", "My One And Only Love" from "Pop Pop"

Michael Brecker: "Chime This" from "Don't Try This At Home"

Miles Davis: "Seven Steps To Heaven" from "Seven Steps To Heaven"

Latin/Cuban:
Omara Portuondo - "La Sitiera" from Omara Portuondo

Country:
Lucinda Williams - "Right in Time", "Metal Firecracker" from "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road"

Chet Atkins and Mark Knopler - "There'll Be Some Changes Made" from "Up the Neck"

Funk:
Earth, Wind & Fire - "In The Stone" and "Can't Let Go" from "I Am"

Motown Funkology Vol. 1 Got To Give It Up - "Brickhouse" - the Commodores

Blues:
Robben Ford - "Prison of Love" "Tell Me I'm Your Man" from "Robben Ford and the Blue Line

Hip-Hop:
Bush Babees - "Gravity" from "Gravity"

Rock/Heavy guitar:
Filter - "Sand" & "Welcom To The Fold" from "Title of Record"

Metallica - "No Clover" from "S & M"

Electronic/Bass heavy:
BT - "Never Gonna Come Back Down" from "Movement In Still Life"

Soul Coughing - "Rolling" from "El Oso"

Rock/good accoustic guitar stuff:
Johnatha Brooke - "War", "Full Fledged Stranger", "Inconsolable" from "Plumb"

??????? (Has a little bit of everything!):
Ozomatli - "Superbowl Sundae" from "Ozomatli"

Cool Groove (good midnight, belly rubbing, put you in the mood music):
Jai- "Magnolia" from "Jai"

Classical:
Vladimir Horowitz - (anything) from "Vladimir Horowitz & the New York Philharmonic perform Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3


equipment:
Psb: Goldi
Bronze
C6i
Subsonic 5 sub
3i sub (2)
Proceed AVP
EAD Powermaster 1000
Toshiba 3109 DVD
Adcom GCD 600 CD Changer
Sony JES20 minidisc
Nakamichi 3a cassette (every now and then I use)
B & O Beogram turntable (will upgrade one day)
TMC cable

Similar Products Used:

monitor audio silver 5, psb bronze

PRICE

SIZE

Hey, let's face it, with more than 100 reviews there are a lot of people out there who own these speakers, which must mean they bought them for a reason. These are excellent speakers. Really. You should compare them with other manufacturer's larger speakers due to the frequency range.
As for srengths, look at the previous reviews. Again, these are great all around speakers. I simply want to put in my "two cents" for the following characteristics:

1) These are BIG speakers. People buy them for that reason like people buy an overwhelming automobile system (read as, BIG). DON'T buy them for that reason. For these speakers to work as they are designed you need a big room. I find that 5 to 7 feet (or at the very least 4) from the back wall works well. (otherwise they are boomy). Buy the silvers if you have a smaller room.

2) I find them somewhat "boxy". they are well designed, but think about it - - if you look at the speakers that are comparable to the Gold i's as far as frequency range and quality, but much more expensive (B&W, Aerial), there is a big difference, that being the cabinetry. That's why they can sell these speakers for less, and it does show itself in the sound. As good as they are, they just don't sound as "tight" as the other more expensive makers. Interestingly enough, I found that if I place some 16" X 16" X 1" square cinder block plates on top with some vibrapods in between and spikes (stock) on the bottom of the speakers it brings them around. I can do that, I have a dedicated room that my wife does not go into. If that's not an option for you, buy a small pair of speakers and hide a subwoofer somewhere - it really is the best option. Also, I should add that I do still use a subwoofer with these for the last octave, because if you do get them away from the walls their bass response will drop, obviously. Look at the B&W N 801 reviews - some of them mention the B&W factory room/show room that they are in to show case them. It's big! Who has that? Buy a small pair of loudspeakers and get a sub.
If you must have big speakers, you can't beat these for the price. They really are neutral and true to timbre. It's just the bass that you must consider!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802 Matrix, Paradigm Monitor 7

Bought these speakers as a Christmas present to myself. Sure glad I did! Love the look of the new Gold i's. Boy, they sure are large, aren't they? Caused my wife to widen her eyes when she first saw them, but once she heard how they sound, there was no further comment. I'm driving them with a Bryston 3B ST amp, no problem with power, the Bryston has lots of horses. They do seem sensitive to room placement, and seem to like being well out from the back wall. My room is 14' x 21', with the speakers firing down the long axis.
I auditioned many speakers before buying these, some costing more than twice the price of the PSB's. These Gold's are a bargain! Top marks!

These are such a great value! Must agree with many of the reviewers below with their very positive opinions about these speakers -- airy top (if a bit less compelling compared to some $10,000 speakers), very beautiful and color-free mids, and robust bass. Overall impression: it is a first class speaker in ANY price range below $10,000, especially for orchestral classical, big band jazz, and good ol' r'n'r. If you are in the market for speakers, by all means ttry the gold/i out -- you will not be dissapointed -- you will be delighted!