"Would you say that your growth curve has leveled out by now or do you still see growth?"

"Like a craft's business that's well established and produces popular good product, we're still growing. Of course the rate has slowed down. When you start from zero and survive, you can't fail to go up steeply at first. That rate won't sustain indefinitely. There's some saturation. But it's not the case that the expansion process has stopped. It's still ongoing. Regarding Corona and the cocooning effect it so clearly had on so many lives, the hifi business might be one of the few which actually benefited. People spend more time at home. One of the things they do there for relaxation or entertainment is to listen to music."

"On that subject, what's your personal music consumption: streaming on demand, locally hosted files, physical media?"

"Only digital, only streaming, only music which I own. My primary resource is Qobuz."

"How much new music do you buy a month these days?"

"3 to 4 albums. I'm very picky. I don't buy music just to have it. I must really like it. For that it has to be different from what I already have. Endlessly more of the same has no appeal."

"Roon?"

"No."

"How about laptop/PC + USB bridge vs. audiophile streamer?"

"For me an audiophile streamer is key for sound quality well beyond a laptop. Even a cheap Volumio already pays dividends and I love SOtM's sms-200. The sound is far superior to that of a laptop. I use Android and Apple tablet remotes as access interface since those servers are headless. I also use a medical-grade Internet switch. And I suspect there's still more potential if I investigated a different router, Ethernet cable and such. My local storage delivers via USB to my renderer so WiFi only handles the control codes and as such doesn't touch the music signal at all."

"How do you handle the routine aspects of this job vs. ongoing enthusiasm and motivation?"

"That's not a question of hifi but life in general. As we get older, more and more things repeat. That's normal. Here it's important to not get conditioned by results-oriented thinking. We should remember that the journey is the destination. I didn't understand that saying at all when I was younger. I think now I do. Let's say a review is due in two days. If that's all I see, I might get tense and stressed out. Now it's all about arrival at the goal. That's bound to get the wheels stuck in the mud to turn without traction. Instead I let go. I forget about getting anywhere. I just relax. I find that very important with writing; hanging loose as it were. A few years ago I caught myself in a brief period where things got more mechanical and the innate motivation ground down a bit. That made writing more difficult. From that I learnt that I write best when I put zero expectational burden on myself. I see that I have time to write. I sit down and simply start. And if I remain relaxed the writing curiously just happens and that's the real fun. That applies to pretty much anything, not just reviewing. In my job, I just remind myself that I have the opportunity to listen to music, write about it and enjoy that process. The only intrusion possible is myself. There's nobody else there. So I might as well give myself permission to have fun. Of course it doesn't always happen so easily. Being a livelihood, it's also about making money, responsibilities and working to deadlines. I simply find that whenever I relax, I get into my zone and have a good time. That isn't just about listening and writing. It's the phone/Zoom interactions with manufacturers and our team which I enjoy very much. Since you asked about a ratio, I'd say that half my working time is spent on routine and maintenance matters so transpiration, the other half on inspiration."

"Have you missed going to the shows?"

"Per se, no. But I do love seeing the people I otherwise only email or telephone with, be that the manufacturers we work with or my colleagues on the team. That part I miss. What I don't miss is the general busyness, the bad air, sensory overload, sore feet and thin hotel mattresses."

"Two final questions, one a personal curiosity because I think it's often overlooked. How can people become better listeners?"

"Should they even want to? What's wrong with how they listen right now? When I was younger, we used to buy red wine at €5 a bottle and had an absolute blast. For special occasions we maxed out at €10/bottle. Today I never get away so cheap. Getting better often means having to spend more money and becoming serious. If that seriousness is to the detriment of innocent simple enjoyment, what's the point really – to just spend more and be uptight?"

"Fair point. And last but not least, what would you tell fairaudio.de readers as this interview's final hurray?"

"Have fun! That's it. That's what it's really all about. If the fun suffers, something has gone awry and it's time for a delete or reboot. It sounds very simple and should be but it's often enough forgotten. Now it's fair audio to be reminded."

Smooth paddling or no paddling at all. The waterfalls and their noise are all just of our own making. Thank you, Cap'n Jörg. The life buoys are all in the water now. Or is that a sea of cheap red wine? Over and out!