THIEL Audio their demise...

Sadly, the company is now run by investment bankers whose taste in music is limited in quality to that of an I-Pod.

Change is tough! It happens in all industries - and investment in business mean 1 thing and that is ROI. Sometimes that comes with true passion for the consumer and sometimes not.

I have 2 Thiel speakers, CS6 and 3.6. They have been part of my music enjoyment for 15+ years - especially the 3.6. They were my dream speaker when I first heard them and of course could not afford them at the time. Now the CS6 is my speaker but I will never part with the 3.6.

It is so disappointing, the demise of Thiel. They have a passionate following but I guess not mass appeal, not even among audiophiles. And trends show there are fewer and fewer of us audiophiles around - the current generation could not give 2 craps about sound quality - they may claim to like it but that is not where their hard earned cash is going.

What is sad for me as I get older and in a better position to buy (almost) what I want for my hobby Thiel is gone for me. I would have followed them as far as they wanted to take it but not now.

Since a "Company" is nothing more than its people, why doesn't the Thiel "old guard" start a new one?
The planet is awash in zero interest cash so financing shouldn't be a problem.
If they start small, speaker building is not a capital intensive enterprise.
What's the deal?

Actually Jim, Kathy and Tom, his brother were the three founding partners. Tom was an expert in woods and veneers and construction. He may have been the reason for such wonderful detail in their cabinetry. Tom left the company in the early '90's.

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??