Your most disappointing purchase or audition?

I agree, only because they extended the warranty anyway, you would think at these prices, High- end Audio would be more reliable!, In the 90s, this was alot less of an issue!

"you would think at these prices, High- end Audio would be more reliable"

I would expect that, not just think it.

I have had junk audio in my life time that is more reliable than alot of today's High- End audio.

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.

"I have had junk audio in my life time that is more reliable than alot of today's High- End audio."

I think there is some truth to that.

Was it truly junk then if at least reliable?

Reliability is an often overlooked attribute when it comes to the quest for the "ultimate" sound. I would expect the good expensive stuff to also the the MOST reliable. Its worth nothing if it doesn't work, right?

Personally, I never drop big bucks out of the gate on one off boutique type brands. I do test the waters with less expensive product offerings from such companies though if justified. Problem with many boutique lines is cost of entry is always high so a significant "leap of faith" may well be needed.

Another problem is that once one drops big bucks on gear, in some cases to vendor that might mean deep pockets for service to keep things going as they should. Especially if the feeling is when working it will alternately also have to cost a fortune to replace