Not once have a had a mechanical issue from an AQ sub. I have a freinds as well who have been competing with AQ for quite some time now without one issue or complaint. This includes many TL tests, high power burps, and music play. It's funny how when one person says a negative thing about a sub, other chime in to say " Yea the spiders are crap" and so on. Please explain how they hinder the performance on them in any way. For the money, I find the HDC a great sub. OP, i understand how from your evaluation on that specific sub you can derive this statement but I will state this can happen with any company as we all know in which I've personally seen this type of stuff on other "brands". But the good ol' saying of "to each their own" applies in this. We all have a right to an opinion.