[sdiy] SSM chip reissue

[David G Dixon]

> I'll guess that some people/companies may opt to avoid buying 
> Vxxxx ones.
> Considering this I am more than happy that the "real guys" 
> are back in the game.
> Gert

Well, when the "real guys" stop producing the chips, what are you supposed
to do?  Just stop making and selling all of your designs?  How "ethical" is
it to stop making a chip that many other companies need for their own
production?  We've used tens of thousands of V2164 chips, and will continue
to do so as long as Coolaudio is the only viable producer.

The thing is, all this crap is made in China, whether it's Coolaudio or
Diodes Incorporated or Analog Devices.  So, given that, why is it "ethical"
for AD to charge $7 per chip when Coolaudio can obviously turn a nice profit
at $2 per chip working in the same labour market?  And why should I be
expected to pay 3 or 4 times as much for the same product when that product
is no longer under patent protection (if it ever was)?  This seems to me to
be taking advantage of ones sense of ethics, which in itself is unethical.
I've always thought that AD were a bunch of ripoff artists.  Thank goodness
for companies like Coolaudio and Vishay.  Without them, modular synths would
be much more expensive.

At this stage, Coolaudio has earned a certain brand loyalty for this
product, which they have consistently delivered to a high standard of
quality at a reasonable price.  These new old guys are going to have to earn
it, as far as I'm concerned.