September 8th. "Providing you with a US plug for the power adapter is no problem. You'll have four replaceable tips in fact. Currently the toughest part is outsourcing the CNC work in full. I just ordered my first batch of new back plates from a Germany specialist company which seems to be very good. Next week their first ten samples should arrive. Hopefully this cooperation will work smoothly and reduce the time pressure."

"Thankfully my new customers are patient and happy to wait a few weeks. Approximately 60-70% of them want to replace their current magnetic passive preamplifier due to its lack of remote or other features, because of a contact error with a rotary switch or to get more volume steps across a bigger attenuation range." This is an excellent reminder. Features are a solid part of any total performance equation. Typical high-end excuses—"remote control hurts the sound so we don't offer it"  – translation: we don't know how to do it properly—don't cut it with discerning customers. They turn to those who don't make excuses because they've mastered their art.

"The Slagleformers are well known thus anybody's guarantee for exceptional sound quality. Now we see big demand for silver-wired autoformers—I just received three pairs and am waiting on two more—and also high-end connectors. Hopefully the autoformer shortage will be sorted within a few weeks."

"Your SE is developing too but slower than hoped. This weekend I want to order the crossover PCB and try the new i/o boards at first in full-range mode. Thanks for your patience and I'm sorry for the slow progress. I'd be more happy with 48-hours days." I assured Pál that wait times for custom orders are perfectly normal. It's de rigueur with made-to-order boots, suits or watches. It should certainly apply to magnetic preamplifiers. I was chuffed to wait on something tailor-made to my exact needs.

These photos show how Pál keeps his work desk busy. My RCA6 + XLR4 i/o boards can be seen in the foreground. Other customers might recognize their sub assemblies in these piles? Welcome to our club.