Thiel is officially closed!!

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

Just noticed this thread.

As I mentioned in the owners thread, I’m now very concerned about
getting the spare drivers I was just intending to order. I’d been in touch with the legacy parts department just a few weeks ago and the feeling was the drivers would be available for the foreseeable future.

But...now?

On one hand I’m thinking they would still want to sell off whatever they have including spare egacy drivers.

On the others, I’m pretty clueless about how companies usually go about liquidizing assets. Aren’t they sometimes "seized" and that kinda thing, so they disappear?

Aren’t they sometimes "seized" and that kinda thing, so they disappear?

If there are loans, the bank will want their money back. If there are not loans, the owners will want to cut their losses. Any spare drivers will surely be available from someone - they won't be locked up or thrown away if they are worth money. @jafant reported that Rob Gillium has arranged to buy the service aspect of Thiel. There is cause to be alarmed but it sounds like Thiel owners will still get repairs and replacement parts.