Minimalist companies: 47 labs, Scott Nixon,Decware

Channel Islands Audio/Monolithic Sound.

I have had an incredible list ( aprox. 50 peices ) of electronics in the last 40 years. I must say that Thor Audio elctronics are the most user freindly,simple to operate and as trouble free a component that I have ever owned.....

Epos and Axiom speakers with ~ no crossover. Carolinaaudio.com with Jordan single driver speakers.
ELF 1.5 from Creative Sound in Canada does not have the rising response curve of the Jordan driver but I haven't heard the Jordan to compare actual sound.
Mistral integrated amplifiers.

But I ask you, why the interest in minimalism? The Mistral is a perfect example of a minimal design which offers clear sound but is far from neutral precisely because it is minimalist. Without the feedback to control the signal you're trading one distortion for another.
As Einstein said, make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.

cdc: My interest in minimalism is on two levels. First and foremost I want to acheive the shortest signal path and least amount of components possible (taking the Einstein quote into account of course). Secondly I am intrigued by minimalist art work and would like my system to reflect that. I find that many companies who strive to make short signal paths also manifest this minimalist philosophy on the exterior ( 47 labs being the best example i've encountered so far)

Audio zone amp-1 is also something that I am looking at. It is a "gainclone" modeled after the 47 labs gaincard, but at $1795 its considerably cheaper. Has anyone tried it?
Check it out at www.audiooasis.com