The first price cut came after EOL announcement. I also think that some people didn't want to buy discontinued product for $700, but for $200 they say 'what the heck, for that price it doesn't have to last forever!'.

A comment on one of Tony's posts: I am angry at S|B because I think they could have increased your #1 category (people who heard of empeg) tenfold. Moreover, I think that good marketing can somewhat increase proportion of people who 'get it'.

I see here phrase 'could not justify the price before' often. Now, English is not my native language so I perhaps don't undertand correctly, but I could always justify the price of empeg (meaning I agreed it was worth the price), it's just that when my number came I could not justify expense (i.e. I simply did not have the money for non-essential items at the moment). Few months later the situation improved (though believing I would not miss that money was still a matter of blind faith ), but I thought I would wait for larger-drive model (30GB units were on horizont). Tony changed my mind with one well-worded post , otherwise I would have waited another several months.

Then, there is a question of priority: baby food comes higher than empeg. Do a car, an occasional meal in a good restaurant, books, vacation, alloy wheels, digital camera? For me, certainly car and books, perhaps the first four items (I didn't end up having to make that choice, luckily). For Laura her drag racer, for someone else all of them, or none...

Anyway, I paid more than $2000 for 18GB empeg with taxes (and tuner when it bacame available) and don't regret it. I am (already somewhat nervously) awaiting a 60GB one which I bought as both backup and disk upgrade. I am rationalizing that I was going to spend almost that much for disks, anyway. I will probably just lend the old one to a friend (untill I need a spare part from it )

I am glad for all new owners (including those who will get unexpected presents from their empeg-loving spouses/lovers/children/friends). I am not at least bitter about having paid ten times more than someone who perhaps bougth it now because it was cheaper than Neo. They will 'get it', and I enjoyed my empeg a year and a half longer