A preamp is a discussion. A house is a marriage.

Changing a preamp is a discussion. Changing a house for the sake of my audiophile journey is not a conversation you have with your spouse without receiving divorce papers.

I say it with a smile, but I mean it. The hardest upgrade in this hobby is not negotiated with the dealer. It is negotiated at the kitchen table, and the dealer cannot give you a return option there.

Our house already runs on rules. There is one that everyone signed on a notarised document: minimum proximity to the McIntosh system is 3 m, and nobody touches the audio gear. And I mean nobody.

When I destroyed my own cartridge with a cleaning cloth, I first accused the cleaning lady of breaking that rule. There was shouting, accusations and drama, and then I remembered that I had cleaned the turntable myself the night before, with friends coming over for a listening session. I had blamed everyone except the real guilty one. I am still apologising for that one.

A preamp needs a budget. A house needs a spouse who still speaks to you after the cartridge incident.