To me, how the manufacturer handles the problem is more important than the fact that a problem occurred. I once bought a $4K (demo) Transparent cable from the manufacturer that arrived defective. They shipped a replacement (brand new / not a demo) next day air before I returned the defective cable. To me this is -1 point for quality control, and +3 points for customer service, so on balance this manufacturer goes up in my ranking, and I would happily buy from them again.