I have a 1000w kenwood 2 channel amp, 3 yrs old and still works great. My dad has a 250w kenwood 4 channel amp and a cd/tape double-din head unit both about 5 years old and still in perfect working condition. and the head-unit was the in-store shelf display too. oh, also a 1000w home theatre system, works just fine after several years of abuse. maybe you got unlucky? or did i just get really lucky?