I had to move some other gadgets off of my desk the other evening for an infrequent empeg docking session and I got to thinking about all the toys I have discarded in the four (five?) years since I got my empeg. Today I read some cost complaints in the thread on tuners and that got me thinking about the relative value of me the empg measured against all of my other gizmos since 1998. (all prices USD)

1 Empeg Mark2a 30 Gig with tuner $1,800. Never been replaced, in fact I'm looking for a new one for an additional car.
6 or 7 handheld digital music players (including 2 ipods) totaling at least $3,000
3 handheld video camera (the latest digital) for a total of $2,400
3 Desktop PCs for a total of $3,200. (this includes various upgrades like video cards)
5 Laptop PCs (I use for work) $11,780

Some of you may not have gone through so much stuff (wasteful American that I am) but some of you have gone through more. When compared to these frequently replaced items, my empeg seems like a sound investment. I wish a new, better replacement was available. I suspect it will only be a matter of months before something does eclipse my Mark II - but I have felt this way for a year or more and it never comes to pass. For now I am satisfied and I have reminded the wife how sound my empeg investment is more then once.

-Greenbean