I'll second that. Not sure where the alleged reputation for unreliability comes from but in my experience they've been rock solid.
I've been using them since 1999 and have 2 pairs of 603A's, a pair of 648's and 17 MB or MBHO capsules most of which I've bought used. The only problem I've had with any of my MBHO gear is the threads got semi stripped on one of collettes for the remote capsules which was probably user error. Even that still works just balky so I bought a new one and pretty much leave that one attached to my KA 800 (figure eight).
Personal experience. Between me and a friend, we've had a a 603 go bad, a ka200n capsule that's mysteriously dropped 10db, and presumably another capsule that might also have had a sensitivity drop. Also, simply doing a search of this forum will bring up quite a number of historical posts where people have had to send their gear back to the factory (and also having to deal with long delays in having their gear returned). That's not to say they aren't high quality microphones, just that the lifetime warranty is important. You could not pay me to trade that in that lifetime warranty for a minor cost savings on the audix version.
Luckily, our most recent experience with having sent gear back to the factory has been a much smoother experience than some of the horror stories found on this board and gearslutz.
The friend in question is me, btw. In fairness, I got my 603s and card/omni caps used. When they arrived the bodies were outputting different and insufficient signals. MBHO repaired them and they now work fine. I bought a pair of new hyper caps and they have never had an issue. hi and lo notes he's also had issues with his gear. In fairness, neither of us can vouch for how the gear was treated before we bought it. Since my repairs to the bodies I have had no other issues and the caps sound great.
The other issue is that the actual cap to body coupling is an inferior design. I think other brands use it as well (maybe Milab?) but having the connection be a single pin just screams, to me, for something to go wrong with that pin. It wouldn't be hard, I don't think, to bend it or snap it off trying to change caps on the fly in the dark or something.
The HOs are great microphones and I would recommend them to anyone, but I agree 100% that I'd rather pay a couple hundred more or whatever the difference is if I were buying new and get the real thing with a lifetime warranty.