What happen to Thule Audio?

From: http://www.elek-data.dk/artikel.aspx?id=21330

This is the google translation of the article;

Thule Audio in problems

It is very uncertain whether the Danish audioproducent can survive. The company has had major problems to meet the requirements of the RoHS directive.

Through the recent Thule Audio had major economic problems, and has now led to the director has chosen to resign. It is currently very uncertain whether the company will be continued and if so what forms, writes the Danish audioproducents distributor, Hi-Fi Club, on its website.

Hi-Fi Club, in the light of the situation chosen to suspend cooperation with the Thule Audio. There is, however, negotiations with external investors, and if subsequently found a clarification, the Hi-Fi Club to take back to the situation.

The background to the Thules problems is the introduction of the RoHS directive in 2006. The company outsourced production, but this flytteproces cost dearly both in money and in particular resources, as Thule Audio could not supply the necessary extent. In particular, product and service has suffered so badly in this, that it is no longer possible to continue the Thule Audio in its current form, writes Hi-Fi Club.

From Hi-Fi Club side, the situation is extra unfortunate, because the Thule Audio has been a great success, since the company took over distribution in 2004. Both the technological and design have been the products of very high class, and Hi-Fi Club stresses that they will do everything to the Thule customers, both now and in future can have the best possible service. Hi-Fi Club has taken over the whole Thules spare parts, which ensures that the vast majority of repairs can be done smoothly in the years ahead.

In unfortunate cases, it may happen that a Thule product can not be repaired, typically because a central component is no longer available. If the unit is purchased in Hi-Fi Club, we will of course try to find a satisfactory solution for the customer. Depending on the garantisituationen can this example. to exchange or offer an alternative product at reduced prices, writes Hi-Fi Club on its website.
 
Hi Tinitus,
I should have said "some" of the caps are heat damaged / dried out. These sit next to hot running resistors & regulators, which results in shortened lifespan for the caps. Interestingly this does result in instability - as you suggested. I want to put back smd devices because the leaded devices have weakened the pads - also the smd sit lower and further away from the hot parts. All the other smd electrolytics in this set (main board) are 3.3uF 50v. The leaded devices the previous repairer fitted are 2.2uF 63v. To be able to get to the pads for soldering, he had to make the legs rather long - not good practice in my opinion, especially as they provide stability for some smd regulators, amongst other things. They are grouped in a set of 8 near the middle of the board. If anyone has one of these sets (Thule Spirit IA150b), perhaps they would be so good as to look through the top cover and post the values for me? Also anyone having problems with one of these sets would be well advised to change the smd electrolytics - especially those next to hot parts.
Many thanks
Chris DC
 
Software vor Thule operating MCU

Hi,

for service in Germany by older 2-ch Thule Audio products I need the specific software for the Atmel processors inside in the amplifier's operating front PCB, also this one for the cd player EPROM.

By which company in Denmark goes the concerning CD ROM?
Thank you very much for appropriate advices.

Best regards
Andreas Kirschner
 
are there now news about Anders Thule from formerly Thule Audio (such as a new brand name e. g.) ?

Their integrated amplifier are one of the best in Class AB mode, that I ever heard.

Thule Audio has developed a special error correction circuit for class A/B output stages, which convert the power output transistors to an near perfect buffer, to eliminate nearly all switching distortion. The remaining distortion is a more "musical" type and I don't know about other commercial products, where this feature is in use. Read more about this here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010205154200/www.thule-audio.dk/technic.htm

I need still the software for the operating boards of all 2-ch pre- and integrated amplifier, because I perform the repair service for an old German distributor
The question is actually, who has taken over the whole material, and the "know how" of Thule Audio
 
are there news about the availability of custom specific software of Anders Thule's "Spirit" amplifier and cd player line?

"Gato Shop" and "hifiklubben" offer only very few "hardware" replacement parts, as I heard from them.

For me it isn't not possible for programming to reconstruct the appropriate software about reverse engineering after know of all operating instructions and the regarded reactions, that happen after this (e. g. "OPEN" after 3-second press of the multi function button).
 
Who knows a diyaudio forum respective audio/hifi forum in english from the scandinavian countries?

Perhaps I have success, if I start a thread regarded the needed costom made software there.

Somewhere, the CD ROM with the software must have stayed. Either Mr. Anders Thule sells them too (but to a different company than those mentioned here) or still he has it, but does not know that his formerly distributor in Germany needed this to perform better service than presently (by the way, I am the service man for all Thule Audio components except multichannel and dvd devices).
There are some faulty operating PCBs from amplifier and some faulty EPROMs from CD-150B. Because there are no possibilities to order the custom programmable operating MCU the software would be needed.

My hope is, that a forum member of a Scandinavian Forum knows Mr Anders Thule.
 
Who knows a diyaudio forum respective audio/hifi forum in english from the scandinavian countries?

There are quite some danes here at www.diyaudio.com, because there is no forum for electronics in danish. There are regular hifi-forums, likke HIFI4ALL.DK | Magasin om HiFi, Hi-Fi, Surround Sound og Audio Video and Nerds.DK, but they have very little diy/service stuff - believe me: The people from Denmark that wants to discuss diy and service - they do it here at diyaudio.com.

My hope is, that a forum member of a Scandinavian Forum knows Mr Anders Thule.
You could try one of the above mentioned forums, but Anders Thule might not be able to or might not be willing to help you. The company did go bankrupt you know, so some creditor mighthave taken over the leftovers, and sold what was anything worth to gato-shop and hifiklubben, and thrown the rest of it in the bin.
And/or Mr. Anders Thule might be occupied with other business leaving him no time to service products from wich he made so few money, that he could not pay the expenses for producing them.

I don't know any of this for certain, but I am just trying to tell you that you might be facing a dead end.
Sorry.
 
It's not easy to say it delicately, but the name (for a company) 'Thule' does not have the best connotations associated with it. Even if it is the owner's name and he is a good person. :)

...the brand name "Thule" does not have the
"best connotations associated with it" -


I don't understand what this term means, even not with help of the commonly language tools
 
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A Visit In the Factory of Thule Audio in Herlev (in earlier days)

Several years ago I saved me follow photos from a Danish website:
 

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A Visit In the Factory of Thule Audio in Herlev (in earlier days) cont.

continuation
 

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