What to do when a crucial piece is in the shop?

I have a somewhat expensive but useful option for the future, keep two systems active:
-reference system with your best stereo gear
-smaller cheaper 2nd system, can be just small integrated amp and monitor speakers for stereo. Same principal applies to video/HT since almost everyone has more than one TV in house.

Many advantages here:
-very helpful/easy finding problem in main rig if you can swap out each piece with gear in system 2
-can break in cables/new gear in system 2 without tying up reference system for this choir.
-gives you luxury of trying different combinations/types of gear paired together.

Sorry to hear of you current problems and hope everything is resolved soon.

Do you want to trade problems? What would you do if your house burned down in a forest fire?

I can't figure it out either. This week I had the most bitchin' week ever. I know what it's like when you have problems with the best equipment. I was really cranking with the Yamaha receiver. All of the sudden, I was like "whoa." I blew both drivers in my really expensive speakers ($400 pair of Bose!) I am saving up my money to go to radio shack and get replacements. In the meantime, I found my grandfather's pair of Sears speakers. They are just not audiophile speakers though, and I am really disappointed.

I guess Im in the same boat with Kinsekd.My BAT vkp-5 took a dump a 10 days ago I sent back to BAT to get fixed with a upgrade. So now I listen to my wife, well maybe that`s not true if I listened to her in the begining I wouldn`t have all this stereo stuff thus the vkp-5 would not be at BAT because I would not own it, now that`s a catch 22. David