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