Does DK Design actually design and manufacture?

I believe DK Designs only uses the existing chassis.
(I own a Reference MK III )
I believe just about every manufacturer out there out-sources their metal work.
I am pretty sure Krell,Cary,Levinson,etc do not build their own chassis.
The Chassis most likely accounts for the largest % cost of the unit.
Have you ever tried to call up and order a new faceplate or top-cover from a manufacturer.
They can cost hundreds.near a thousand in some cases.
If you can get a chassis already built and put your dollars and cents into the internal parts and design,that sounds like a pretty smart idea to me.

The DK internals are/were designed and engineered here in the US.
The new DK Signature Version now has an all new pre-amp section designed by Legendary designer/modifier John Tucker.(Exemplar)
They use something called an "active load circuit"
I am not a designer,but,I believe this circuit allows the tubes to perform at 100% of their potential.
I have also heard that DK has or is working on "Statement"
unit that is intended to to best any amp in the world
regardless of price.
A hefty order,however,based on what the Reference does and what the Signature sounds like(I have a friend who owns one)
This may just be an obtainable feat for an intelligent design team that knows where to spend the money.

No Eldartford, if they appropriate existing designs and simply redbadge them or place them in a fancy-looking case, they are not like other manufacturers. So answer the question.

most equipment manufacturers, design the equipment to their specs, and then outsource the manufacture and assembly, so yes, they do pretty much all operate the same.

I've seen many a response here on Audiogon over the past 6 or 7 years that I have been here. Solid state is better than tube, OTL better than transformers, SET better than high power, electrostatics better than dynamic speakers, vinyl better than CD, NOS better than new production, cable can't possibly make a difference, you can't meausure it but I sure as heck can hear it, and on and on and on, as well as the converse to every one of those.

A lot of answers, a lot of opinions. Some have been polite, and some have been inflammatory. Some I have felt compelled to respond to, and others that I have not.

The one response I never understand is when someone says you have no business asking the question. Audiogon would NOT be Audiogon unless we did ask the questions, and question the answers.