THIEL Audio their demise...

That's a great question.
However, all businesses face the issue of 'Barriers to entry', meaning, what obstacles must be overcome to enter a market successfully. The loudspeaker industry is loaded with competition and dealers have very high sales resistance, as most seem, in a word, jaded.
When I bought DK Designs back in '06 it was intended to be a launchpad for the Loudspeakers, the LSA's.
The plan was, call existing dealers for DK, now MY dealers and tell them, 'We'd like you to pick up our loudspeakers, too.'
The resistance was very strong. I finally resorted to, 'Let me send you a pair at no charge, if you like them, carry them.' It was sadly, a hat in hand proposition.
So, while you're right about being able to get money cheap, the start up for Domestic Production would be pretty high. My LSA's were mfg'd in China. So, I only had the raw cost of production. Even then, depending on the model, a minimum of 200 pairs had to be ordered.
So--it's a real issue for many potential 'start ups'.
As former Director of Sales for THIEL 15 years ago, that thought entered my mind--but as their production is domestically based with many employees and overhead, it didn't seem feasible to me. Maybe someone with more money could pull it off.
The net of all of this is--the THEIL that I enjoyed is gone. But, it seems to me purchasing THEIL and then changing the product, as the new owners have done, makes no sense.
It's tantamount to buying Coke and changing the formula--who in their right mind would do that??

Lrsky - Thanks. I could not remember Tom's name or details about him, so I didn't mention him. Thanks for you comments on the current company.

Starting a new "Thiel" like company with out Jim Thiel would be quite a challenge.

was just searching to see whatever became of thiel, as it is still my main home theater system--5 full range thiels (scs4 for surrounds, mcs1 for c and pair of pcs for left and right) and a velodyne sub--and still sounds quite amazing. i put it together a good decade and a half ago, and it has since gone through many changes on the front end, processor, dacs, etc.. but the thiels have remained because they sound fantastic. i'm an accuracy and musicality freak and these deliver on both. 

thanks all for the informative thread. 

@dtich  If you haven't already, take a look at the Thiel Owners thread. It's one of the longest and best threads on Audiogon, and "jafant" keeps it moving along smoothly.. Tom Thiel posts many very interesting comments there, as do a diverse mix of Thiel owners across many decades. I'm still happily listening to a pair of CS-2.2 speakers I bought in 1992.