I owned both(a number of years back)and they shared the same space in my listening room.The Gold i worked better for me in that they were more forgiving of placement near room boundries.They were placed along the long wall of a 13'x20' room about 18" off the rear wall.The speakers were about 8' apart and I sat approx. 9' away near the rear wall.Placement was not ideal but dictated by the room(fireplace...).The 3A sounded marvelous when properly placed in the showroom.I think they were probably the better speaker with proper placement.In my situation they were less than coherent.I was aware of the sound eminating from the different drivers.They also seemed to "overpower" the room.I think that I needed to be further away from the rear wall.The speakers also needed to be further out into the room.
Hope this was of some help.
note:The 2CE worked better in my room,but were also more hampered by placement than the Stratus Gold i.
