In my experience Yamaha receivers typically have outstanding reliability. Denon is high ranking as well. As with any company there are models that are hit and miss. I've heard more about problems with other manufacturers other than those two. NAD had some QC issues a while back, to my knowledge they've improved. Marantz has apparently had some recent QC problems. A few Onkyo models are known to run extremely hot and have had some failures as well. Sony, some models work for years, others not. Sony may have this problem because of serious current limitations on many models, especially Non-ES models. Pioneer seems to do alright, you don't hear much complaint about them. Their lower end models are manufactured by Sherwood (or some conglomerate that Sherwood is folded in with) that has a good track record for producing reliable products explaining why the company is responsible for producing OEM receivers for a majority of brands' entry level products reportedly ranging from Marantz, Pioneer, Denon, Yamaha, and several others.