Defunct brands-

@zavato I did not know that about Audio Note. My current Type D's (second system) and my long gone Type E/III were definitely after Peter Snell's time but still great speaker values. I plan to keep the Type D's forever. I am expecting the driver surrounds to fail soon but I will repair them.

Rock on!

Melos made some great gear, Equation speakers from Canada had a hot minute and were very good; I had their "7" model. Let's not forget Thiel. Jim never made a dog speaker - each and every one, paired with the right electronics, is amazing. Just to name a few... 

My whole stack is vintage Hitachi, hasn't been around for quite some time. Sans switches, face gear and knobs, it's all just parts that for the most part can be sourced. If it works and you like don't worry about it. Any and all components will fail at some point, enjoy them and don't worry much about it. 

@simao great guy Keith Herron….I remember years ago when I called him and asked about any B-stock VTPH-2A’s and he said “no, but I’ll build one for you”.   It was clearly A-stock, he just did me a huge favor.    Long after that, during my years  at VPI, we would talk fairly frequently on the phone and we became friendly.    Amazing-sounding phono and line preamps too !!!

Apogee Acoustics went out of business years after I bought a pair of their Duetta II speakers, but love of their speakers was so strong the brand was revived by an Australian, who made improved drivers and established a small group of restorers across the world.  The restored Apogees are better than the originals and easily competitive with (and generally better than) anything in their price ranges.  There are one or two new companies making similar designs that are heavier and very pricey.  I haven't heard these.