I remember bringing home, on loan from my local audio dealer, on separate occasions, a Mark Levinson amp and a pair of Thiel spkrs. Both of the items were being raved about in the audio press but the amp got a solid 'meh' and the Thiels' were a complete disappointment. The only item I've ever bought and was disappointed by was the original Phillips CD recorder, due to it producing so many duds. I'd say it had a 25-35% failure rate! That said, I still recorded a load of CD's with it until replacing it with a Pioneer Elite and later a Tascam, both of which very rarely failed/fail me.