One thing I noticed in peeking into a few rooms at AXPONA is that I see fewer VPI turntables. I'm honestly not a fan of something that looks like a "contraption" but then again, I have always liked the looks of those old Micro-Seiki DDX-1000s from the late 1970s.
With VPI, I think Harry's son Mat has taken over a lot of the operations. So whether the quality concerns improve under his watch remains to be seen. (My buddy's turntable was purchased long before Mat was actively involved.) But I've noticed they have released many more models since Mat took over, getting away from the more traditional looking VPI tables from decades past. I was also never a fan of the unipivot arm, and my buddy reported that it was frustrating trying to mount a cartridge in it.
From what I've seen at shows and among many local vinyl-loving audiophiles, VPI comes up often in conversation, where C-J is not mentioned much if at all. It's not like it's unknown, but I don't think their components took off in popularity like VPI has. Yet once mentioned, others look on the brand fondly. This may have been different decades ago, though, especially when the Premier 12 was the critics' crown jewel. I like that C-J has remained independent, to be honest.
I rarely ever see dealers bring C-J components to AXPONA. C-J has never been there as a company, in the years I have attended. As large of a show as AXPONA has become (some are thinking it might be the largest show in the US now), a non-appearance means that show attendees aren't seeing the C-J brand. They are seeing Audio Research and numerous other brands when they walk into rooms. It is possible, though, that C-J just doesn't have the capacity to make more units than they currently produce now. To get a large volume of orders all at once might overwhelm their capacity.
Yet with brick and mortar dealers disappearing, that is even less of a footprint C-J has in front of potential buyers. (Since our local dealer closed up shop recently, I don't even think C-J has a dealer in our area anymore.) Current owners can only upgrade to newer C-J components for so long, and some depart for other brands just to try something new, and may not return. All of these things make me hope that C-J has the means to stick around for a while longer to either 1) not go out of business, 2) sell out to venture capitalists like other high-end companies, or 3) sell out to owners who try to mainstream the brand (or buy it just for the branding rights), to where we see start seeing gold-toned C-J bluetooth speakers and earbuds sold on Amazon.