Many wise responses thus far, and I'd agree that disclosure is part of what the forums are about. Just the facts, mam. A manufacturer should be willing to stand by their conduct, absolutely. I would like to know that if I purchase, say, an Audio Aero Capitole player, for instance (just picking a component from your listed system that happens to be the only one where mechanical failure is a possibility), that customer support may be lacking for such a significant purchase. It would certainly have a strong bearing on my choice in selecting a player in that price bracket, and I'd greatly appreciate that information being available in a forum like this if I were shopping for one. I would certainly want to know that a mechanical failure after warranty would necessitate a full replacement of the unit. In response to those who've cited the fact that components can and do fail, I'd say that it certainly would not be something I'd want to worry about in early years of ownership. As far as mechanical failures, in 25 years in this hobby, I've had one transport fail, and that transport was over ten years old! The manufacturer held the unit for over six months while they sought out a replacement Sony LPU which had gone out of production long ago. To their credit they were able to find an NOS unit in Japan and installed it at no charge with apologies for the length of time it took. They could have easily refused the repair at any time since the LPU was no longer manufactured, and the unit was built in 1995. That company is Muse, in case anyone cares. I would certainly buy their components again, as I very much appreciate the way they handled that repair, in spite of the time elapsed. Other than that, nothing else has ever failed on me, either electronic, nor mechanical (other than tubes and fuses). So I would not count imminent failure among even my most remote expectations of high-end components. That's just my experience though. YMMV.
Marco
Marco