That info from Bill is not exactly the story. Dan Flickinger left audio but didn't disappear. Last I checked he's still alive. Years ago PRR did a great analysis of Flickinger's first (to my knowledge) amp card (that may have happened at the old place. I probably have the info on a computer somewhere, & PRR may still have it posted somewhere.) That circuit is not a copy of an SS amp, and the 535 is not at all a 101 or 110.
Flickinger did start out using SS parts to build mixers, before he started making his own circuits. (Early on, I don't think Spectra Sonics made consoles--just EQs and amp cards. The SS 1020 console, at least originally, was manufactured by Auditronics in Memphis using SS amp cards and EQs. Eventually Auditronics' quality control issues pushed Dilley to start making consoles in house.)
I've heard tell of "counterfeit" 101s and passive EQs that were credited to (or blamed on) Dan Flickinger. I've also heard that after Flickinger left audio some former employees carried on with some of his work--at least some of it with his blessing. It's an intriguing snippet of audio history, & I wish I knew more about it.
There was (and still is) bad blood there. That much I'm certain of.