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

  Today I read a thread a poster wondering in Mytek was still in business.  A couple of replies were critical of the poster for asking.

  Owners of Krell products started a few threads when the company didn’t answer queries about repairs.  Some criticism ensued due to alleged insensitivity to deaths in the family ownership.

  I mentioned that I heard a rumor about Sim Audio due to the demise of one of their founders and was told that I was on a mission to destroy their company.

   I fully understand that the Internet is the leading source of information, good and bad .  I also realize that it is the medium of commerce for audio companies .  I also realize that company margins are small and that misinformation can be very harmful to their bottom line.

  However the fact that these companies sometimes have precarious stability means that their customers, potential or otherwise, have legitimate questions.  Look how Thiel Audio, Krell, Audio Research, and Mytek have done over the past half decade or so.  If a creative voice at Sony leaves the company for whatever reason, chances are Sony will still be here for the next several decades.  With the companies Agoners tend to favor, it could be disastrous.

  That is a long winded prelude to my question, namely: Can we question the stability of companies here?  I don’t want to be a troll and hurt any manufacturer.  However where do we few tens of thousand aficionados get to ask legitimate questions?  This is a Forum for hobbyists, not God’s Writ on Absolute Truth.

  If anything I think that the quashing of rumors benefits the manufacturers more than seeds of doubt in the minds of consumers.  I speak as some who has previously bought Mytek and AR gear, and who has seriously considered SIm Audio.  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.