This sentence from MC stood out:
“Some weeks later we have them over. Listening room door, eyes bug out.”
It can be argued that upgrading equipment isn’t always for pure SQ improvement. His eyes bugged out not his ears. There’s a reason equipment is designed to look great. Hand rubbed wood, polished stainless, glasswork, etc. Many can simply ignore the visual aspect, but many cannot. Add to it…it’s fun to get a new toy and spend days and weeks tweaking.
The upgrade bug bites for many reasons.