What companies, out of Business, did you LOVE???

Hales immediately came to mind. Very salient b/c i happen to own a pair :)

Spica!! I still have tc-60's in my main system. Their ability to image and create a large believeable soundstage would have been a natural in the home theater craze. On a good night, when the goblins are asleep, I am amazed at how good my system can sound with speakers that I bought as a dealer demo for $400.

Apogee Acoustics and Nakamichi

(01). Museatex/Meitner: Some of the prettiest "high-end" components that I have ever laid my eyes on. Start out with spartran and stealth looking front panels, back them up with sophisticated audio technology, and then add some classy looking rosewood side panels, and you have some of the classiest looking components to ever exist in the "high-end" industry. They sounded as beautiful as they looked. Too bad I couldn't afford anything like those components back then. Because if I was able to afford them, I would probably still have them today. If there was anything such as a WAF (meaning "Wife Acceptance Factor") component, then the Museatex/Meitner components would be those components.

(02). Counterpoint was another company that has bit the dust. And this was a company I was deeply into when I was in the market of buying my first preamplifier (a used Perreaux SM2 that I purchased back in 1992). I had my eyes on their SA-3 (I think that was what the model number of their $3,000.00 preamp back then) back then. I thought that THAT was was a beautiful looking tube amplifier as well. And I am not a tube man to begin with. But if I were to get into tubes back then, then Counterpoint would've been the choice I would've made back then. Audio Research is a great company, and they have produced classics such as the SP-10, the SP-10 MkII, the SP-11, and the SP-11 MkII. But still, my company of choice if I were to get into tubes would've been Counterpoint. Counterpoint would've given me the chance to experience the tube sound without paying the high prices that Audio Research was charging for their component. Right along with their SA-3 Preamplifier, I also loved the Natural Progression Preamplifier and Power Amplifier as well.

(03). And what Counterpoint was to tubes, Threshold was to solid-state. This was a company that has had a great linage behind them (Nelson Pass in the 1970's (which co-incidently, is whose circuitry is inside of my Adcom GFP-750 Preamplifier), and then came out with Stasis current in the 1980's (this VERY circuitry has later started showing up in Nakamichi's (see below) first line of Stereo Receivers and their Power Amplifiers as well (the PA-5 and the PA-7 come to mind)). And they competed very well in the Accuphase/Boulder/Krell/Mark Levinson arena. Later on in the latter stages of their existence, they also had preamplifier that I fell in love with as well (I don't know the model number, but it had one control on the left of the panel, another one on the right of the panel, and a pretty blue looking dot matrix display in the center of the panel. The preamp was powered by an external power supply as well). Recently, the company did try to attempt a come back, but right now, I don't know what has come of it. I didn't hear anything recently. Maybe someone can bring me up to speed on this one.

(04). And now, we get to Nakamichi. They haven't went belly up yet, but I understand that they are in serious financial trouble right now. They have filed for bankruptcy about a year ago, and hopefully, they will make a strong financial recovery and re-emerge from bankruptcy as soon as possible. It would be ashamed if a company that has proven to be a institution to the "high-end" industry such as Nakamichi should go belly up, then the "high-end" industry would suffer a major travesty. Not only they made some very good audio components overall, but they made some damn good cassette decks too (at least the old ones were quite good). I happen to own one myself, a BX-300. And if I have something to say about it (and I do), unless I can find an unbelievable deal on a CR-7A anytime soon, the BX-300 isn't going anywhere. I don't plan on disposing my BX-300 anytime soon.

--Charles--

Acoustat, Dynaco and Audio Alchemy always had dynamite products at real world prices. Don