The Do-Not-Buy List.
Every site tells you what to buy — a commission rides on it. This page is the opposite: the products Reddit’s ownership threads consistently warn against, published even though a “don’t” earns us nothing. Each one comes with the failure rate, the reason, and the thing owners say to get instead.
Don’t buy it — get the Sony XM4 instead
~1 in 2 ~1 in 2 long-term owner reports describe a failure — the highest failure rate of the 10 wireless headphones we track, against a category baseline of 27%. Connectivity is the most cited component, followed by battery and moisture/condensation damage. Failures typically surface between 12 and 31 months of ownership. Of tracked warranty outcomes, 111 cases landed unresolved versus 66 resolved — so failures usually land outside warranty or go unmade-right.
Get instead: Sony XM4 — you want strong ANC and sound without accepting a severe failure risk — 27 threads recommend it as the direct alternative at $248.
Don’t buy it — get the BenQ instead
~1 in 6 ~1 in 6 long-term owner reports describe a hardware failure, spread across eARC/HDMI handshake, pixels/DMD, eARC/HDMI port, DMD chip, firmware/board, and DMD chip/white pixel issues. No clear onset window or warranty resolution pattern is available from the data.
Get instead: BenQ — you want a home theater projector with stronger owner satisfaction and fewer reliability concerns.
Don’t buy it — get the Epson 3800 instead
Get instead: Epson 3800 — you want a home theater projector with stronger owner confidence.
Don’t buy it — get the Sony instead
~1 in 2 ~1 in 2 long-term reports describe a failure, most commonly the left earbud (including buzzing and audio issues), with onset typically within the first 8 months. Of tracked warranty outcomes, 75 were resolved and 56 were unresolved — meaning a meaningful share lands outside warranty or goes unremedied. This is the highest failure report rate of the 4 wireless earbuds we track.
Get instead: Sony — You want a wireless earbud with fewer reliability reports in long-term ownership.
Don’t buy it — get the AirPods Pro 2 instead
~1 in 3 ~1 in 3 long-term reports describe a failure, most commonly battery issues (20 reports), followed by left earbud and unspecified problems. Onset typically falls between 2 and 19 months. Of warranty cases, 31 landed unresolved versus 23 resolved — meaning failures usually land outside warranty or without remedy.
Get instead: AirPods Pro 2 → — reviewers who compared the two rated the AirPods Pro 2 as inferior, so there is no confident alternative to recommend here.
Don’t buy it — get the XGIMI Mogo 2 Pro instead
Get instead: XGIMI Mogo 2 Pro — you want a portable projector with a less troubled reliability record.
Don’t buy it
~1 in 2 ~1 in 2 long-term owner reports describe a hardware failure, typically within 1–14 months of ownership. The most-cited components are DLP/DMD chip failures, projector unit issues, and eARC audio problems. Of 14 tracked warranty cases, 8 were unresolved — failures here usually land outside or beyond warranty coverage.
Don’t buy it — get the Sony WH-1000XM4 instead
~1 in 3 ~1 in 3 long-term owner reports describe a failure, overwhelmingly the hinge (132 counts), typically surfacing between 5 and 23 months. Warranty resolution skews unresolved: 93 unresolved versus 36 resolved cases. At 30% serious-failure rate, this is above the 27% baseline for the 10 wireless headphones we track — failing more than most in its category.
Get instead: Sony WH-1000XM4 — you want comparable Sony sound and ANC without this hinge failure pattern — available at $248.
Don’t buy it — get the Bose instead
~1 in 3 ~1 in 3 long-term owner reports describe a failure, most commonly the hinge (13 reports), with onset typically between 2 and 8 months of ownership. Warranty outcomes lean unresolved: 19 of 24 tracked cases landed outside or without warranty coverage. This failure rate is above the 27% baseline for the 10 wireless headphones we track.
Get instead: Bose — you want a proven long-term track record and the hinge failure pattern is a dealbreaker.
Don’t buy it — get the AirPods Pro 2 instead
~1 in 10 ~1 in 10 long-term reports mention a failure, spread across charging case, battery, and earbuds components, typically within the first 1–8 months of ownership. Of tracked cases, 16 were resolved under warranty and 9 were not — so outcomes lean resolved but a meaningful share lands outside coverage. At ~7% serious failure, this is the lowest failure rate of the 4 wireless earbuds we track.
Get instead: AirPods Pro 2 → — you want proven reliability and a lower price — 33 threads recommend it as the more straightforward choice.
Don’t buy it — get the Sony instead
~1 in 3 ~1 in 3 long-term owner reports mention a failure, with ear cushions and bluetooth connectivity the most cited components, typically appearing within the first 14 months. Of tracked warranty outcomes, 30 were resolved and 23 were unresolved — outcomes lean slightly toward resolution but a meaningful share lands outside coverage. That puts this headphone third-lowest in failure rate among the 10 wireless headphones we track, near the category baseline of 27% serious failures.
Get instead: Sony — reliability is your top priority and you'd rather avoid the failure risk entirely.
Don’t buy it — get the 5050UB instead
Get instead: 5050UB → — you want a step up in contrast and long-term confidence and can stretch the budget.
A Stay Away needs the same evidence floor as a Strong Buy — enough owners, threads, and authors to stand behind. See how we decide, and what happens when the evidence changes.