Charles1dad,,, I have heard of some problems with the 300 series and as you said not everyone had this problem, infact I might suggest that only a few had a problem. My #332 was 10 years old when I sold it to a friend, it's still working without issue. Also had two friends with the same series that had no issues, sometimes things just get blown out of proportion, the internet hasn't helped.
It probably helped that the units in question were not turned off.
Jmcgrogan2,,, there were no doubt many other great brands, but if you asked 9 out of ten audiophiles what were the top three brands you would get that response. Rightly or wrongly so.