Moving from PSB Stratus to Synchrony ... questions

I used to own PSB Stratus Bronze. I think that selling the Stratuses might be the only regret that I have in the cycle of buying and selling gear.

I just auditioned the Synchrony Ones assuming that I would immediately fall in love with them but did not. They had the bass and presence of the Stratus but the upper mids seemed muddled and the highs were almost nonexistent--certainly very little detail. I was surprised. It could have been set up, but other speakers performed very well with the same equipment, in the same space.

Just my two cents. I still miss my Stratus...

I used to own the PSB Stratus Gold i. Although they had their faults, I generally liked them. I sold them several years ago. Last year I shopped for new speakers to replace my Revel M20. I had high expectations for the Synchrony One so I sought out a shop that had them on display. Well I was underwhelmed by their sound. They seemed reserved and not very open. Perhaps they weren't broken in or the electronics weren't well suited for them. I ended up buying the Harbeth Super HL-5. IMO, I liked my old Stratus Gold i better than what I heard from the Synchrony Ones.

I also own a pair of Stratus Gold i's.
I was looking at "upgrading" to the synchrony line.
I must say was also underwhelmed. Their soundstage and bass response was not quite on par with the gold i's. I would say the midband was about equal, but I felt the synchrony's were not quite as coherent as the gold i's. Imho, the drivers on the golds seem more integrated and complement each other better than on the synchrony's. Long story short, I am keeping my beloved Stratus Gold i's
BTW, I demoed a friends synchrony's in my sytem in my house.There were no variables when comparing the two speakers. Same TT, amp, cabling, etc

Guys ... I can not thank you enough for your advice here. This is exactly what I was fishing for. They are getting raves in the glossy mags, but I always suspect magazine reviews. I'm shocked to think Paul Barton may have made a step backwards after all of the AMAZING things he's done over the years ... Alphas for $200 , the original Image series, and the underpriced Stratus line come to mind.
I guess I will probably keep my wonderful Silver"i" speakers, maybe cover them with a beautiful exotic real wood veneer, and upgrade all of the crossover components to high grade electronics.
Thanks again

I have both Goldi's and Synchrony Ones. I prefer the Synchrony Ones to the Goldi's but not by a huge margin. The Goldi's are more bombastic and will play louder and make a better rock or electronica speaker, and have a larger soundstage. I still love them and may not sell them since they aren't worth that much on the used market although they are heavy and large to store. The Synchrony speakers are keepers for me. For one thing, they sound really good at low volume and Goldi's don't and this has changed my listening style. Synchronies don't do anything wrong-they never shriek treble or boom too much like Goldi's can sometimes. The Goldi's are good to listen to for a shorter period loud and the Sychronies are better for hours at any volume-they can play really loud like the Goldi's-just not that last little bit of over the top drunken party time. For sure the Goldi's are better for filling a larger room. I switched back and forth a bunch of times in the same room with the same electronics and wiring. The Synchrony treble is not as pronounced as the Goldi's but sometimes that's a good thing-bad recordings sound much worse on the Goldi's so I now find myself listening to stuff that I had written off a long time ago. Just one guy's opinion here.

I know this is shameless but..

I just happen to have a pair of PSB Stratus Gold i
to sell if anyone wants a pair.. (Dark Cherry)

$900 + actual shipping OR pick them up in Denver and
cut out the shipping costs...

Bizango,
I should have stated that in my preference to the Gold i's is that my listening area is a rather large 20x28. In that size room, I thought the golds did a better job. The Synchrony's may be better in a smaller room, but I had them in this large room so I feel unqualified to comment on their sound in a smaller environment
Happy Listening all!!