Atma Sphere deserves praise

One concern I have with such a hands-on owner is the succession plan. What does the future hold when, or if, the company ceases to exist, or the owner retires, etc.

True, and sometimes unfortunate, yet our hobby is better for the likes of Mike Sanders, Ralph Karsten, George Wright and Paul Marks.

Is it purposeful strategy to move new product, or the legitimate and natural march of "progress"?

Yes. It is both and each is "legitimate and natural". The successful manufacturer is one who improves his product *and* stays in business. I appreciate the discussion and let's not forget about music.
 

I love real value. 'Planned obsolescence' never cut it with me.
Equipment which gets total support from the manuf is golden.

Jtimothya makes a good point about the need to stay in business, we do want out great designers to stay in business. It does seem to me that there are some pretty good examples of "successful" companies with stable products, with evolutionary and incremental changes, forthe most part with an upgrade path for owners. Ralph would be one, but also true of folks like Ken Stevens of CAT, Bobby P at Merlin, and some Richard fella making time and phase coherent speakers out in California. Their products today don't look much different than their products 10, 15 years ago, and if you bought them then you (for the most part) could upgrade to their latest thinking. Great designs don't have to be reinvented every 2-3 years to remain relavant or have a loyal following.

Roger Modjeski has a section on his site that talks about where the next generation of audio engineers are going to come from. He makes a pretty good point and is willing to be part of the solution (be forewarned - he doesn't suffer audiophools well). I am not interested in becoming an audio designer, but the education I've received from Jack Elliano and his friends in the last few weeks is priceless.

As for Ralph, anyone who grooves on Porcupine Tree is okay by me.

"As for Ralph, anyone who grooves on Porcupine Tree is okay by me."

Interesting you mention this group as I just saw them in Orlando this past Friday with very little familiarity with their music, a friend had an extra ticket.