Morning all. I know, I know – it's been a while. Life got in the way, and more recently, a very comfortable armchair and a certain pair of Wharfedales made it very hard to reach the keyboard.

I was having a clear-out the other day and found a notebook from my first foray into hi-fi back in the '80s. Proper little engineer, I was. I'd written down the exact specifications for my dream speaker cables, including the precise gauge of copper and the angle at which the strands should be woven.

Anyway, all this thinking about our beloved hobby reminded me of an old classic. It's a bit like the one that goes around about us lot, and it fits this place perfectly:

First audiophile: "I hear Joe died."
Second audiophile: "I didn't know that. What did he have?"
First audiophile: "Oh, Marantz, Linn, Krell, Vandersteen."

I promise I'll be back properly soon. The system is singing, the rug is down, and I'm just about ready to stop listening long enough to write something coherent about it all.

Hope you're all well.