PSB Stratus Goldi vs Paradigm Studio 100 v2

The Gold i is a very nice speaker and IMO by far a better speaker than the 100v2.

The Golds have a all the virtues of an expensive speaker but what it lacks is a little finesse in its presentation. Overall an excellent value for money.

BTW, I have owned a pair a few years ago. Good decision.

If you must stay with Canadian "speaks", and you are straying towards the PSB line, my experience selling this line with lots of gear is that the PSB Silver I's are a better sounding speaker overall! They are surely less colored and have a more neutral balance. They also seem more extended on top!
infact, back in the mid 90's the Silver's were rated by Sterophile as part of the HT/music "dream system" for it's price range!(mated with the mini's and C6(or 5?) center and PSB STratus sub! But, the Golds will play lower and perhaps a tick louder on their own I suppose. Still, If it were my money, I'd get the Silver I's over the Golds.
If you do like the "warmish" speaker sound, then you might differ. The Paradigms(all of them), PSB gold's, Mirages, and most other Canadian breads are on the warm side of neutral, if it matters to anyone. The B&W's(Brit's) are also a tick warm of neutral, but not so much so, and better overall, but for more money!
On the other hand, if you want to experience better sound for dirt cheap, God's little secret in the audio world is the klipsch SB2 minimonitor and the jolida sj502 integrated tube amp mated together!! Adding a sub and a surround processor only makes it more interesting also!!!
...Get me better sound for HT/music for anywhere near the money and I'll shut up!...

Let me disclose this bias right up front: I went from silvers to Magnepan 1.6 qr's(yeah,I'm one of those Maggie nuts.).
That said,I liked the silvers better than golds. Explaining why would be like trying to explain how milk chocolate and dark chocolate taste and how their tastes differ.

The Magnepan 1.6's, which I used to sell on a retail level, are indeed more detailed, and refined sounding overall than the PSB speakers. The Magnepan ISN'T HOWEVER the DYNAMIC SPEAKER that the Silver's are!!!! Infact, the Manepan IS NOT an edequate rock or HT speaker!...nor adequate WITH ANY HEAVY DYNAMIC MATERIAL!!! The Manapan 1.6's, just to put this bias to closure right up front, are TOO FRAGILE, AND DYNAMICALLY CONSTRAIGNED TO HANDLE ANYTHING MORE THAN POLITE, DELICATED, DAINTLY VOCALS, JAZZ, AND INSTURMENTALS!!! (we're talking about a ribbon that can blow out of it's magnetic field should you blow hard on it!)
You will not see Maggies, for instance in a rock reference rig, techno or rap recording studio, nor in any full fledged exotic custom home theaters featured in any respectable custom HT magazines!...or in any reviewers HT rigs for that matter. So, the Maggie indeed has it's place, just not in mine... I already have issue with passive speakers, by-en-large, being too dynamically challenged and restricted. Let's not even go there with "grandma's" speakers!!!(er, the maggies).
So, is the Maggie better than the PSB Silver I's?...depends on who's "Depends" you wear...Just kidding.(ha ha)

Foreverhifi,that's cool. My love affair with maggie is a result of her imaging(one I got the placement right). In obligato passages,I can follow the melody,the counter melody, and the third line defining the harmony without the speakers getting in the way. I'm willing to trade off a bit of dynamic range in return for the imaging. As you've worked in the bizz, you've heard more speakers that I have. That said,I'd recommend the Silver i s to anyone wanting conventional speakers. P

I often read similar opinions of the Silveri, that it is a more refined speaker then the Goldi. Having had both the Silver and the newer "i" in my home my findings were that the Goldi was a better performer all around if you had the power amplifier to make it so. As an example, running a pair of Silvers with a single Classe Ten definitely impressed me, so much so that I did at one time consider the purchase of a pair. But head-to-head with (2) Tens bridged (400 watts per channel and enough current to do some welding) the Goldi's opened up in a fashion that to my ears was far superior to the Silvers.

This thread is starting out just fine, but can we get some direct comparisons between the 2 Canadian heavyweights that started this thing.

FOr that kind of money...I would try to audition a phase correct make...such as Thiel,Meadowlark, or Vandersteen...an entirely different sound and coherency level...maybe not as initially exciting as some...but very non-fatiguing in the long haul...Paradigm or PSB is really a lateral move in my estimation...good luck

Having owned the PSB Stratus Golds(not the i's). I personally think they are one of the greatest audio bargains available. They sound incredible,and are a beautiful piece of furniture to boot. I wouldn't second guess your decision. You have purchased a true audio masterpiece. I recently purchased Martin Logan Ascents,and I'm hooked on electrostatics. If I didn't own my Ascents I would of bought another pair of Stratus Golds in a heartbeat.

Well in my humble opinion my legacy focus's sound far better than the gold's. The gold's are indeed a nice speaker, but as I stated in another thread- they require far to much power (inefficent) to equal the dynamics and spl of many other speakers at a lower and/or higher price, esp. when one considers the size of this speaker. but again IMO. :)