Yes and I am sure the same thing can be said about B&W
and KEF.
B&W didn't start with the 801 nor did KEF start with their Reference lines. Both of these companies started with affordable models first.
Look at PSB the T3 which has been universally heralded as a fantastic speaker got the same smirks when they went up market with the T3.
Paradigm has always played it safe and even their last line of high end speakers the Signature line was compared very favorably to speakers from Wilson and B&W whose models cost considerably more.
And yes if you have a lot of money you can hire the best minds and use the best technologies, and Paradigm has very talented staff.
Your logic is fallacious, the larger the company the more resources they can throw at a project, Do you think if Bose wanted to build literally the world's best speakers that they couldn't?
The problem in the industry is that their is inherent snobbery and way too much brand passion that borders on insanity.
There are Wilson guys, Vandersteen guys. Magico guys.etc.
We have tried a lot of very expensive speakers and the Paradigm's are really, really good, and are very competitive with anything out there.
Are we brand loyal not really, as we have moved in and out of a number of speakers before we settled on the Persona's as one of our top picks, we are adventurous and willing to move to new brands and products that we feel offer our customers the best performance possible.
So with that said Oaky have you even heard the new Personas?