Herron Audio...Still in business

I bought a Herron VTPH-2A phono stage direct from Keith in 2018. I’m not affiliated with Herron nor an insider, but the bits and pieces I’ve gathered are as follows:

• Keith discontinued the VTPH-2A and went into semi-retirement a couple years ago. He was to continue servicing existing phono units, and continue building & selling other products (preamp, power amp).
• When a friend asked about it, (paraphrasing) the cost of building these phono stages would’ve gone up DRASTICALLY given current market forces. I’ve heard similar stories from other "high value" hifi manufacturers, like Rogue Audio recently discontinuing their Apollo tube monoblocks.
• Sometime in the past few months, Herron Audio’s website went down (domain expired?), and it’s stayed down.

As far as "run away", why? The products seem to be rock solid reliable. It’s a problem if you wanted to upgrade from an earlier version. The phono stage seemed to be fairly unique and filled a nice niche in the market - I don’t see other examples of a 5-tube RIAA circuit with that 12AX7 / 12AT7 complement. The JFET MC stage was also quite good, though I'm a SUT junkie and still usually prefer that route. The unit with stock Electro Harmonix 12AX7 tubes is quite bright. It's those tubes' fault - replace it with something slightly warm / sweet, and you're in business (you can leave the 12AT7 stock)!

Now, the gap between budget gear and high-high-end continues to widen :(

Long time Herron fan here and owner of a Reference 360 linestage and VTPH-2a phonostage. I am in regular contact with Keith, whom I consider a friend, and just had an email exchange with him about a week ago. @mulveling is spot on about the reliability of Herron gear. I've owned various Herron components for well over a decade now and have never had a single issue. He runs his tubes very conservatively and the build quality of his products is off the charts. While Keith is now semi-retired from Herron Audio, I understand this decision was driven mostly by the cost and availability of carefully selected parts and his general feeling that he had pushed his most recent designs to the pinnacle of performance. As always, Keith will continue to provide exemplary service and product support for his many clients for years to come. 

“Grab them fast or run away quickly?”

Well…Couple of questions and I’m asking them out of concern,

1) why invest in a product that is no longer being manufactured,
2) and how long one can expect a support on a discontinued product due to lack of part supplies even with the best intentions to service the product.

I get the stellar brand history and support but there are plethora of great choices to consider than buying a discontinued product. I came very near to buying Herron phonostage but when news broke, I decided to look elsewhere. Just my .02 cents.

@dodgealum + 1 - I also have a 360 Line Stage and 2a phono stage and have been delighted with their performance since I got them; some of the tubes are wearing out but I've got replacements on the way. I had to contact Keith last week about the tubes and he told me the same thing about semi-retirement (that's why he took the website down, but he will still respond to emails or calls) and continued support. Superb gear - I notice that one of the audiophile vinyl places (Acoustic Sounds or one of the other ones) that also sells gear is selling Herron Audio gear, I guess the last of it....