How do designers fare when they change companies?

I would say John Ulrick, formerly from Infinity, is doing well with Spectron.

Too much cult of personality in "high-end" anyhow. Don't look behind the curtain at some of the real creative stuff in pro audio and parts manufacturers.

I believe Jim White was at Theta Digital before starting Aesthetix. A success story for sure.

Charlie Hansen of Ayre (the electronics firm) previously had helped to start up Avalon Acoustics (the speaker firm). I would say that he has continued his success story admirably, IMHO.

John Curl and John Dunlavy also come to mind. I agree with Stanwal, the designer generally does tell me more than the company name.

David Hafler went from Dynaco to start his own company. Carl Marshasato [ phonetic spelling] has been several places. Tim de Parravicini [also probably misspelled] has been with Luxman before EAR. In England several of the better designers work as independent consultants or have been with several companies. Martin Colloms, Ben Duncan, Stan Curtis, Robin Marshall come to mind. Derek Hughes started at Spendor, his families' company, and moved to Harbeth. In general the designer tells you more than the company name.