Quoted from snaroff:Innovation? Most of the mechs used have been around for decades. LCD's are fairly new to pinball, and they rarely have problems.
Sterns reliable? The new Spike-based machines are less reliable...cheap boards and power supplies.
The problem with NIB Stern games is they are trying to squeeze too much into a short period of time (in terms of both R&D and manufacturing). Iron Maiden is a great example. The Premium/LE has lot's of problems with the added goodies. Pro is much more solid. So, you get to spend an extra 2k and have more headaches...make sense?
Back in 2004, the SAM-based machines were much more reliable. My LOTR is just crazy reliable and it's been in the wild briefly (shows, arcades). Back in those days, the Stern designers weren't forced to build 2 games (Pro, Premium/LE). Added models/features and shorten the time-to-market and the result is bugs.
I'm pretty shocked the op claims 0 problems with his Stern games. Impressive. It's a crap shoot, that's for sure.
snaroff
The OP may have zero issue w/ HIS Sterns, but that's a diff case from the ones i have owned..