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The Stratus Gold is our best definition of an all-out, highest-performance
speaker. The latest iteration of one of the most acclaimed loudspeakers in
the world, the Gold keeps all of the qualities of the original Gold and
adds some subtle but worthwhile improvements that make it even more
satisfying. It has everything needed for full-range, full-impact,
undistorted reproduction of tremendously demanding music and Home Theater
effects — at high volume levels in the largest likely listening/viewing
rooms. And it has a sleeker, slimmer "Stratus look" that helps it fit
gracefully into a still wider variety of room decor.
It was not easy to improve the original. We will spell out what we have done in a moment. But what we have to say first is that the sonic character of the new Gold is even better than that of the original, which
Stereophile's Thomas J. Norton characterized this way in his review
of the original:
"The PSBs presented me with an open, detailed, clear sound-stage, a solid low-frequency foundation, airy, articulate highs, and an unmuddled, low-coloration midrange. Their sound is immediate and vibrant—not pushy, but clearly not laid back either. They have a natural clarity and inner detailing which do not slight small-scale instrument groups and vocals, but have the weight and impact required for dramatic, large-scaled works." It is obviously hard to make big improvements in that kind of sound, or in the power-handling ability that prompted Audio to call the original Gold "the 10,000-watt speaker." So what, then, did Paul Barton do to update the original? "A Minimonitor on Top of A Subwoofer" Look at the new Gold next to the original and what you notice, besides a nice new (dark cherry) cabinet finish, is that the new enclosure is slimmer and deeper than the old. That simple change, which substantially decreases the front baffle surface, helps accomplish a striking improvement in the original's already excellent spatial imaging. A second simple change — a wider port tube that is radiused both internally and externally to get rid of all turbulence in the port — also has important audible results. It means you can crank the lowest frequencies up to structure-threatening volume without hearing any "chuffing" side effects. A third change, to a new, thicker front panel, makes sure that even the highest-volume listening will not excite any cabinet resonance.
Put these changes together and you get a big speaker system with tremendous impact that also has the lightness, quickness, and wonderfully airy and precise spatial imaging of a superb minimonitor like the Stratus Mini. It is hard to imagine a better summary of the sound than the following one taken from the first review of the Gold , by John Atkinson, Editor of Stereophile:
"The midrange was clean and uncolored, the stereo imaging well defined and stable, and the bass generous without being boomy....This is one fine design....There was no coloration that I could readily identify....With lesser speakers, diverse instruments tend to acquire a sameness about their sounds. By contrast, the Gold preserved all the tiny tonal differences that distinguish, for example, the English horn from the oboe, the viola from the violin, even when they are playing notes with the same pitches....The Stratus Gold also scored big-time in the low frequencies. Where a recording had true bass information, the speaker reproduced it in full measure....Despite its size and genuine bass extension, this is not a slow-sounding speaker. Rather it is fleet of foot and light in touch, as you might expect a minimonitor to be if its response could be extended down to the low-bass region....The Gold is going to put a serious crimp in the sales of its more expensive competitors. Enthusiastically recommended."
—Stereophile Vol. 20 No. 10
To make the Gold even more refined and bulletproof than the original Gold, we have taken out all the stops internally — with high-performance cabling, higher-tolerance crossover components, and higher-temperature voice coils. (We never knew anyone who managed to face down the original "10,000-watt" Gold, but now not a gunslinger in town will even think about it.)
We have also enhanced the listener's performance by supplying spikes and levelers that make it easier to set up this 95-pound speaker for the long haul in either a carpeted or bare-floor setting. The final difference is in the eye of the beholder. The Stratus Gold definitely looks less imposing and more housemate-friendly in its slimmer, deeper enclosure. You will not notice the added depth in a typical room setting, and people clearly appreciate the slimmer frontal footprint. It helps a big speaker look far less imposing. And its sleekness
combines with a new furniture look that is very much in line with what so
many have valued in smaller Stratus systems like the Silver and Mini
(including a choice of the glossy "wet look" black of those two systems, or
nicely done conventional black ash finish, or the striking new dark cherry we mentioned). It is a beautiful fit in today's living rooms — a speaker that the person you love (or whoever you have to split the cost of residence with) won't oppose.
The basics remain the same in the new as in the original. In this three-way system, there is the same 10-inch woofer (with 40-ounce magnet!) that helped account for D. B. Keele's statement in Audio that: "Bass organ notes that had made my reference speaker stumble were handled without a whimper by the Stratus Golds." There is also the same 6-inch midrange driver (with 20 ounces of magnet), crossed over from the woofer at 250 Hz, that led to the following characterization by Thomas J. Norton in his Gold re-review in March 1997 in Stereophile: "The PSB builds on a solid foundation: a clean, uncolored midrange. Vocals were unfailingly natural — from the Fairfield Four to the Crash Test Dummies to the King's Singers and everything I sampled in between. There was a genuinely appealing palpability and warmth to the midrange." And finally, there is the same one-inch aluminum dome tweeter (and carefully balanced 2,200 Hz crossover between it and the midrange) that produced the "subtlety and timbral integrity" and the "clean," "clear," "refined" sound that prompted the listeners quoted in Sound & Vision's blinded listening tests to call it a speaker with "no significant faults." Like the original, the new Stratus Gold is as much
a product of Paul Barton's long hours of adjusting and readjusting performance at Canada's
National Research Council facilities as of the design and components used.
It has the neutral, uncolored sound we strive for in every speaker from the
Alpha series upward. But what sets it apart is the combination of extended
bottom-end response, high-end definition, and clarity at all power levels—together with the precise imaging and fleet response provided by the new design.
The Gold goes even further than the remarkable original in making sure that everything that goes in comes out superbly defined at any listening level.
This is a speaker that will stay its unstrained, satisfying self at the loudest listening levels in big rooms. It will also "bloom" beautifully at lower levels in smaller rooms. Thanks to its redesigned appearance, it will bring its superb performance gracefully into a wider range of environments. Only slightly higher in price than the original, it remains half or less the cost of similarly ambitious "high end" speakers. It is the same "excellent value" cited by Stereophile. When D.B. Keele, Jr., who had done the first review of the original Gold in Audio reviewed the new Gold earlier this year, he wound up
saying this:
"Standout performers....These are accurate, well-balanced speakers that have deep and powerful bass coupled with an extended high end."  We recommend the Stratus Gold to you in confidence that you will find nothing short of full
satisfaction. And we urge you test that recommendation by taking your
favorite recordings of music and movies to a PSB dealer for a
close-listening session. Bring your most demanding materials and highest
expectations.
Please click for specifications in HTML with US Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price or PDF; then click on this next link to find your closest PSB dealer(s). Owner's Guide PDF available in:  English (151K), French (169K), Spanish (172K).
REVIEWS: $ensible Sound Reviews The Stratus Goldi. Audio Magazine Reviews The Stratus Goldi. 
Stereophile Reviews The Stratus Goldi. |
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