Is it O.K. To Speculate Re: Company Stability Here?

Difficult to separate the facts from fake news these days. Opinions are great when they are backed up by tangible facts. Otherwise, speculation makes a good chat but nothing of value IMHO.

@mahler123 ...Personally I am not going to spend thousands of dollars on something if I think the company may not be here in 6 months. YMMV. However I think this space should be a legitimate place to ask questions.

There is no guarantee or reasonable answer. The small boutique companies can be challenged when the hands-on engaged owner gets sick, or has parts supply challenges, or just stops supporting a particular model any more.

The mid-size companies can get bought out, and who knows what happens next to products, parts supplies, and whether they’ll continue to repair something or not.

Larger and known COs get bought out too, Bose-McIntosh, maybe more promising here, we’ll all watch and see what happens with models, parts, ongoing support?

One other member and I here talk about this question quite a bit. One other factor is whether or not we could get something repaired locally or not with a good tech. I had some amps a while back that I really liked for my speakers.  I even had two spares of the same amp liking it so much. One day the main board went bad, tried fixing it five times. Boards aged, hot, cracked, multiple repairs made.  Local 50 year tech buddy gave up, and I sold it for parts. Then let the other amps go too for someone braver than I am keeping amps and gear around with limited spares out there with low-volume produced boutique amps.  

I tend to think it’s a roll of the dice no matter what you buy out there. Can you get it fixed later, that’s the question I’d have first and foremost. Good Luck.

You can yes, but you have to be careful. I wont comment on the others, but I will say, you have absolutely no proof or recollection of where you read about Simaudio Moon. To add to that, just because someone passed away, doesn't mean the company goes belly up or is it trouble (example : Walt Disney). 

I had never read any articles or comments suggesting this, so if you are the only one on the internet claiming this, it would be fantastic to support it with some kind of proof at least. 

You have to remember, a comment like that can persuade other members to not buy from a certain brand, because they can perceive it as being true... 

That's my opinion on this matter.

Then, there is just general speculation, which is ok, and people can voice their opinions and discuss.

What @skads_187 wrote above is super important to note. Particularly so if you care not to hurt or cause damage to these boutique makers working to survive and thrive. Many thrive also because of forums like Audiogon. Support them. 

i.e. Frank Van Alstine at AVA recently passed away, yet as some know Frank spent [I think] at least the last 3 years slowly prepping and transitioning design, manufacturing, production to some new chaps fully taking over for him keeping the Van Alstine dream alive. I bet if we call there they will share what the future holds.

Frank shared with me once a few years ago how his design guys there are responsible for some of last gen components we see now, not sure what exactly. Same goes for Nelson at Pass Labs, and how Dennis Had has effectively worked with his pit crew on the Inspire by Dennis Had amps and preamps. You see smart changes inside too from the new crew taking the legacy onward! Be Cool.

@curiousjim 

I’m sympathetic to keeping politics out of threads but mentioning that new tariffs may impact Canadian manufacturers isn’t being political.  It isn’t the same as discussing the merits of tariffs or commenting on the politicians that implement them