Dear nandric, it's ironic that the quality control issues that apparently plague current Kisekis was the reason for Van den Dungen to start the original Kiseki back in the 70's. The story goes that the Koetsus of the day - which he distributed in the Netherlands - had wildly inconsistent sound quality from sample to sample. So he decided to release an 'alternative' for his customers. These 'original' Kiseki disappeared again in the late '80 but had become as famous as Koetsu. There was an intentional lack of information about its 'maker', although it has been confirmed they were built in Japan (Dynavector or Kondo were the most likely candidates). It's unknown to me who makes the current Kisekis, but I agree with you that they sound nowhere near the originals.
As for Van den Hul, I have it on good authority that AJ is the only one building the 'open' systems like Colibri and Condor. For the more 'budget' priced models like the Frog and MC-10 I'm not sure. How long he will be able to continue is anybody's guess, but a recent interview with AJ in a Dutch magazine introduced both his sons as his successors. The oldest is handling the business side, while the youngest is being tutored by the master to become the cartridge builder and designer.