He's notorious for not answering emails. Apparently he is swamped with emails with all kinds of questions and just doesn't bother. Also a lot of audio guys like Broskie are not exactly on the cutting edge of email technology......Someone needs to hire an assistant, methinks!
I can't speak for John, but the last time I heard from him via email (several years ago) he was in the same place I am in. My board business, Tubelab, is a part time venture. I have a full time engineering job that demands 50+ hours per week. John worked for a simulation software company when I first talked to him. He has changed jobs since. Tubecad was also a part time venture. There are two other guys I know from this forum that sell PC boards, they too have full time engineering jobs for a major electronics company.
Tubelab, and probably Tubecad, pays for itself in most years, although Tubelab has lost money in the last two years. Hiring an assistant is out of the question since there is no budget. Another forum member is rebuilding my sick website....for free.
I get 100+ emails a day, not counting those already trapped by the spam filter. I do answer any email regarding transactions, and ship orders as soon as possible, but this is all I can do on most weeks. I routinely get several emails a day asking me to choose one of two or three Chinese amps for someone who I know nothing about (what music through which speakers) and I don't keep up with other products in the market place.
John told me that his situation is similar, only he gets even more email than me. I agree that not answering email about orders that have been paid, but not shipped is bad for business. In my case the company I work for forbids any Tubelab related correspondence from work. That only leaves evenings, and Sundays....maybe a few Saturdays. He did a similar dissapearing act several years ago, and it was because he had to move across country for a new job.
I think he had someone else doing his order fulfillment at one time. I ordered an Aikido board a few years ago and it was processed by Yahoo, and sent from somewhere other than California.