Can Hi-Fi Survive? Paradigm, Anthem, WiiM, and the Future of Audio

This week on the SoundStage! Network Audiophile Podcast, host Jorden Guth is joined by Blake Alty, product manager for Paradigm and Anthem, along with John Bagby, managing director at PML Sound—the parent company behind Paradigm, Anthem, MartinLogan, and GoldenEar. Together, they discuss how brands maintain distinct identities under one corporate roof, how manufacturing scale affects modern hi-fi, the industry’s generational divide, the partnership with WiiM, and whether high-end audio risks losing touch with ordinary music lovers as million-dollar systems increasingly dominate the conversation.

Sources:

“Paradigm Shift—The Bagbys Are Back!”: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1350-paradigm-shift-the-bagbys-are-back

“A Fantastic Gateway: A Q&A with Paradigm's Zoltan Balla and Blake Alty on the New Monitor SE 8000F Loudspeaker”: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1186-a-fantastic-gateway-a-qa-with-paradigms-zoltan-balla-and-blake-alty-on-the-new-monitor-se-8000f-loudspeaker

Chapters: 00:00:00 Announcement 00:00:36 Introductions 00:07:21 Maintaining separate brand identities 00:11:30 Economies of scale 00:13:54 Defining value in an uncertain economy  00:17:11 The future of million-dollar hi-fi 00:20:39 The myth that kids don’t care about good sound 00:24:03 Headphones 00:25:55 The next generation 00:29:16 Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! 00:33:04 Education matters 00:34:52 Ten years down the road? 00:40:43 Outro music: "Crystal Ball” by Adv3n7ur35