This week, we pick up the ball from where the previous episode left off. Host Jorden Guth once again moderates a chat between podcast producer Dennis Burger and guest L. Paul Hales about the future of hi-fi and the place room correction has in that future. Topics include how one defines a good speaker, why kick drums can lose their oomph, why you wouldn’t EQ a piano, and a complete break-down of Paul’s five-point problem with room correction. Sources: “Are JL Audio’s Primacy Speakers the Future of Stereo?”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/are-jl-audio-s-primacy-speakers-the-future-of-stereo/ “JL Audio’s Primacy Active Loudspeaker Systems: Charting a New Course Under Garmin” by Roger Kanno: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/blogging-on-audio/232-roger-kanno/1266-jl-audios-primacy-active-loudspeaker-systems-charting-a-new-course-under-garmin “Are JL Audio’s Primacy Speakers the Future of Stereo?” (S5:E4): https://youtu.be/xdyxqp9kYvE?si=lZwAeCePVYoVOLl6 “Chest-Pounding Bass, Done Smarter 🔊 Theory’s Renegade Approach to LFE”: https://youtu.be/vtOgOT5hsu0?si=0J9qiAfDGGK-8XHR Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:01:59 What makes a speaker good?00:07:28 A thought experiment00:15:54 Get that kick drum out of my ass 00:25:07 Paul’s five-point problem with room correction00:33:31 The question of burn-in00:37:23 A band of speakers?00:38:25 Outro music: "Goosefeet” by Javapysch

This week, host Jorden Guth moderates a conversation between podcast producer Dennis Burger and returning guest L. Paul Hales, founder and chief designer of California-based Pro Audio Technology. Together, they explore the future of hi-fi and the role room correction may play in shaping it. This is the first installment of a two-part discussion. Sources: “Are JL Audio’s Primacy Speakers the Future of Stereo?”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/are-jl-audio-s-primacy-speakers-the-future-of-stereo/ “JL Audio’s Primacy Active Loudspeaker Systems: Charting a New Course Under Garmin” by Roger Kanno: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/blogging-on-audio/232-roger-kanno/1266-jl-audios-primacy-active-loudspeaker-systems-charting-a-new-course-under-garmin “Are JL Audio’s Primacy Speakers the Future of Stereo?” (S5:E4): https://youtu.be/xdyxqp9kYvE?si=lZwAeCePVYoVOLl6 “Chest-Pounding Bass, Done Smarter 🔊 Theory’s Renegade Approach to LFE”: https://youtu.be/vtOgOT5hsu0?si=0J9qiAfDGGK-8XHR Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:09:59 Can bad rooms benefit from room correction?00:16:43 Dennis enters the chat00:23:15 The parable of the piano 00:30:12 Direct vs. reverberant sound00:36:14 Grimes theory of economic unfairness, but speakers instead of boots00:40:59 Outro music: "Techné” by Art Against Agony

This week, host Jorden Guth sits down with SoundStage! Ultra’s Jason Thorpe and SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider to discuss their trip to Vienna for High End 2026—the first time the world's most important hi-fi show has been held outside Munich in more than two decades. Did the move affect the show? Was there a demographic shift among attendees? What were the most impressive products, rooms, and demonstrations? And perhaps most importantly, were the Vienna sandwiches up to par? Sources: High End 2026 coverage from Vienna, Austria, on SoundStage! Global: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2026-vienna-austria Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:06:46 Taking attendance00:09:22 Quantity and quality of the rooms00:14:23 How’d it sound?00:28:33 The best record Jason ever heard00:31:30 Bowers & Wilkins 800 D500:32:40 A demographic shift?00:35:02 The offsite controversy00:36:27 A 21st century player piano00:43:53 Outro music: "To Be the One” by Israel Wasserman

JL Audio's new Primacy active loudspeaker system has generated plenty of discussion since its debut, but how did the project come together—and what does it say about the future of high-end audio? In this episode, host Jorden Guth speaks with Doug Henderson, Garmin's Director of Home Audio, about his 50-year journey in the audio industry, from selling hi-fi in Manhattan during the 1970s to leadership roles at Dahlquist, Bowers & Wilkins, and now JL Audio. Henderson explains how the Primacy project evolved, why active DSP-based loudspeakers represent a major shift in home audio, and how technologies developed for automotive and marine audio helped shape JL Audio's flagship home-audio system. The conversation also explores changing listening habits, the importance of making high-performance audio more accessible, and what the next generation of music lovers may expect from hi-fi systems in the decades ahead. Sources: “Are JL Audio’s Primacy Speakers the Future of Stereo?”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/are-jl-audio-s-primacy-speakers-the-future-of-stereo/   “JL Audio’s Primacy Active Loudspeaker Systems: Charting a New Course Under Garmin”: by Roger Kanno: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/blogging-on-audio/232-roger-kanno/1266-jl-audios-primacy-active-loudspeaker-systems-charting-a-new-course-under-garmin Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:05:29 From Harmony Hut to Dalquist00:09:09 Memories of Saul Marantz00:10:35 JL Audio’s turf 00:16:46 DSP and the Art of High-Fidelity00:19:31 The origins of Primacy?00:22:52 Why speakers look the way they do00:26:17 Pricing Primacy00:30:01 What we got right and wrong00:35:33 Peering into the crystal ball00:39:51 Outro music: "The Buddha’s a Beatle” by 5 Sided Cube

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 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:07:21 Maintaining separate brand identities00:11:30 Economies of scale00:13:54 Defining value in an uncertain economy 00:17:11 The future of million-dollar hi-fi00:20:39 The myth that kids don’t care about good sound00:24:03 Headphones00:25:55 The next generation00:29:16 Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!00:33:04 Education matters00:34:52 Ten years down the road?00:40:43 Outro music: "Crystal Ball” by Adv3n7ur35

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider and SoundStage! Access editor Dennis Burger to discuss the remarkable technology behind JL Audio’s new fully active, DSP-optimized Primacy loudspeakers, including the three-way T6 tower and two-way T3 standmount model. Do these highly integrated speakers point toward the future of high-end audio, or are they a radical detour from traditional hi-fi thinking? Along with debating the concept itself, the group also digs into Doug’s early listening impressions and what makes these speakers so different from most of today’s high-end designs. Sources: “JL Audio’s First Hi-Fi Speakers Rethink Stereo—Primacy T6 and S3” by SoundStage Network: https://youtu.be/m2yuMHwr8TQ?si=rpIeewakT7ulK7Ja Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:03:06 The rumours of JL Audio’s demise…00:16:47 A radical approach?00:23:08 We can’t show, but we can tell00:26:08 Yeah, they cost that much!00:27:40 The real future of real high-end?00:32:48 Achille’s heel or nah?00:33:45 OK, but do they even sound good?00:42:28 Outro music: "Flying Above the Sun" by Yehezkel Raz feat. Sivan Talmor

In this episode, Steinway Lyngdorf CCO Peter Keller-Larsen draws on his experience at Nokia during the iPhone era to explain why user experience, simplicity, and real customer insight now matter more than ever. From gaming and home cinema to changing listening habits, he argues that hi-fi must evolve—or risk being left behind. Sources: “The Hi-Fi Generation Gap—and What the Industry Must Do”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/the-hi-fi-generation-gap%e2%80%94and-what-the-industry-must-do/ “Yet Another Navel-Gazing Editorial About Boomers, Kids, and the Future of Hi-Fi” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1368-yet-another-navel-gazing-editorial-about-boomers-kids-and-the-future-of-hi-fi “German Hi-Fi Giant T+A's CEO on the Future of Audio”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/german-hi-fi-giant-ta-ceo-on-the-future-of-audio/ Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions and origin stories00:06:18 The Danish Steve Jobs?00:09:38 Dennis was right about gaming . . .00:18:01 . . . and the physiological benefits of good sound00:21:49 Plug and play00:24:52 Opposition research00:27:09 Who’s getting it right?00:34:26 Outro music: “Cloud Ten” by Novembers

In this episode of the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast, host Jorden Guth is joined by Simaudio’s product director, Étienne Gautier, for a wide-ranging conversation about where hi-fi is headed—and what needs to change. They discuss the lack of industry standards, what hi-fi can learn from other sectors, the real value of trade shows, the role of education, and how today’s “hustle culture” mindset affects both companies and consumers. Sources: “Inside the Moon 371: Étienne Gautier on Simaudio's New Compass Collection”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/inside-the-moon-371-etienne-gautier-on-simaudios-new-compass-collection/ “Simaudio’s North Collection: The Future of Hi-Fi?”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/simaudio-s-north-collection-the-future-of-hi-fi/ Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:03:31 Organizing the industry and setting standards00:12:03 Cross-polination in hi-fi00:14:01 Journalistic standards?00:17:46 Trade show blues00:19:35 Education and exposure00:25:33 Coming out of the basement00:32:03 Connected vs. disconnected00:31:49 Outro music: “Magilla Trench” by Art Against Agony

In the Season 5 premiere of the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast, host Jorden Guth sits down with Conradin Amft, CEO of T+A Elektroakustik, to explore how high-end audio needs to evolve to reach a new generation. The conversation digs into the headphone-to-hi-fi pipeline, the growing appeal of all-in-one systems, and why user interface, user experience, and industrial design now matter as much as sound quality. Amft also explains what hi-fi can learn from other industries—and how a legacy brand experiments without losing its identity. Sources: “Selling Emotions: Conradin Amft on T+A’s History and Future”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/selling-emotions-conradin-amft-on-tas-history-and-future-then-to-now-hi-fi-tomorrow/ “Made-in-Germany Hi-Fi and Playback-Control Software from T+A”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/made-in-germany-hi-fi-and-software-from-ta/ Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:36 Introductions00:06:00 The headphone-to-hi-fi pipeline00:12:00 The appeal of all-in-ones00:15:57 Inspiration from other industries00:22:06 UI and UX00:24:40 Aesthetics matter more than ever00:30:20 Testing new waters00:31:49 Outro music: “Take Me Home” by Channel 13

What does it mean for audio gear to be “technically correct,” and why should listeners care? In the fourth-season finale of the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast, host Jorden Guth and producer Dennis Burger are joined by John Siau, vice president of Benchmark Media Systems. He discusses his background in the broadcast industry and how that experience shaped Benchmark’s engineering-driven approach to audio design. The conversation explores the evolution of DAC technology, the relationship between hi-fi and professional audio, and the ongoing balance between listening impressions and objective measurements. Siau also explains why he believes accurate measurements ultimately lead to better musical performance and addresses common misconceptions about digital audio. The episode concludes with a look at Benchmark’s commitment to designing and manufacturing its products in the United States, and why the Syracuse, New York–based company sees domestic production as both a practical and philosophical choice. Sources: “Florida International Audio Expo: Aretai and Benchmark Present a No-Nonsense Showstopper”: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/florida-international-audio-expo-2026-tampa-usa/1255-fiae-2026-aretai-and-benchmark-present-a-no-nonsense-showstopper Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:31 Introductions00:07:09 DACs of a different era00:10:03 Why hi-res matters for production00:12:43 What does transparency mean?00:16:00 Hi-fi vs. pro audio00:19:09 Listening vs. measurements00:23:32 Linear phase and the issue of ringing00:27:50 Nerding out on Nyquist00:33:41 Born (and built) in the USA00:40:03 Outro music: “Seven Seasons” by The Days