end of an era ......

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Age should never be an issue for going out of business. The formula for creating the devices can be handed down to apprentices. The only reason I see for a going out of business is economic feasibility.

Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, Marantz are still in business. The founders are long gone.

I was approached a year ago by a guy that builds speakers. He is a one-man shop. He appeared to be in his fifties or older. It was serious concern of mine that if the guy got sick or died that there would be no recourse for me should I ever need some sort of support or service. The guy makes a good product, but I declined to buy because he was a one man show.

In the past I'd seriously considered a set of the flagship VMPS speakers. It seems out of nowhere I read that the owner had died. The website for VMPS went dark and poof it was gone forever. Before I spend big money on an item, I want to make sure there is a successor in place should I need support in the future.
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@Mitch4t - exactly why the Joule brand will not likely persist. With the Joule amps, techs don't want to work on them and there are no schematics or circuit diagrams to reference. Each one is unique.

If you need Joule stuff fixed, we can handle it. You can also contact Signature Sound; Rich has repair contacts also.

too darn bad that Joule-Electra is shutting down production. :(
And, I agree with Mitch4t that the original owner passing away or retiring should never be the reason to shutter the business. It certainly looks like economic feasibility - most people are happy to buy cheaper bigger brand electronics that sounds good enough & don't need a J-E.
it's certainly possible that an apprentice or lead-tech refused to taken new ownership of the business 'cuz (as another member wrote) it just doesn't pay.
It would be good to have this as a secondary business (something along the lines of what Doshi Audio does).....

"Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, Marantz are still in business. The founders are long gone." So is ARC.

You need to play it smart like Bill Johnson has. Selling the company 2-3 years before passing away although it should not considered as a "one man operation" before Bill sold ARC. ARC will be around for many years to come i am sure.

I anticipate 2 more will be folding shortly. Benz and VDH as both owners/designers are getting up in age. Too many one man operation business have no succession plan. No sons or daughters interested in continuing the legacy. The owner/designer dies, the company folds.

ARC is an exception and so will VPI as son Matt will take over from Harry eventually. I'm sure there will be others.......i hope.