Borislav: "I'm also on the should-I-buy-a-spare fence but it's shaking uncontrollably and I'm not sure I can hold on for much longer."

OK, but the question is: Which way are you going to fall??

I, too, have been thinking about this all day. Money is tight, however. My conclusion? When SonicBLUE offers a discount of $100-$150 to existing Empeg (I'm glad I never got used to calling them Rio-Whatever) owners, then I'll buy an "insurance" unit. I figure that's more than they'll get from reseller/liquidator types, and a purchase price of $850 would make me feel better about making the leap given the uncertain, melancholy circumstances. Failing that, I'll just cross my fingers. The notion has some attraction. If I had a 2nd unit, I could just leave it on the boat during the warm, less humid (less corroding!) months.

Jim