Thiel is officially closed!!

Most definitely disheartening, though watching this unfold, not surprising.  I for one, feel sad about how things wound up.  When such a leader of this sort of entity moves on, the entity itself normally passes along, as well.

Jim Thiel sat at the top of the high-end loudspeaker world for a very long time.  He was a man of vision, conviction, and innovation.  His products reflected what he believed, and he refused to compromise

Another iconic brand..... mismanaged,  and run into the ground.....

I wonder what kind of succession planning is done at these audio companies.  It seems like when the founder passes, there's absolutely no contingency plan for legitimately continuing the business.  It's something I recently considered and made me think twice about buying Dan D'Agostino's mono blocs given Dan's age and the size of the company.  I'm also concerned regarding Ayre with the recent passing of Charles Hansen. 

Conrad Johnson did it right. Sold the company to their head technician. Coming out w/plenty of new products. They are in good hands.

I totally agree with jon 5912, this is a good thing :-) Also, I really like the point bar81 is making about audio companys and who what and why is steering them in the current and future direction they might be taking. Looking at a companies history and personal are often overlooked by audio buyers, and I find it a primary reason for my purchases over the years, it says/means a lot when you buy something from a company thats been around for twenty or thirty years, these designs are often solid and truly tested overtime...speaks volumes.Imo. 


Matt M