Daiwa mid range reels

[Juzza]

Ok to be fair I am mostly a Shimano fan, but their terrible gap between their 2500 and 1000 size reels has forced me to look into the Daiwa 2000 size to match up on some rods I have.
I thought if I spent $250-280 on a reel I would get something decent from Daiwa, but not so sure now. I bought a Caldia SHA about 2 yrs ago and while not anything special it has not been too bad, lot of gear slop. I bought another recently as my local had them at a good price. After 2 outings it became noisey and rough, I took it back to the shop and they sent it back to Daiwa, after 5 weeks I get it back with a $35 bill because they don't warranty bearings. It felt pretty average so I sold it at a massive loss and went on the hunt for an alternative. After much research I thought I had found it in a Ballistic EX. One use with this new reel left me shattered as it too was noisey and had a clunk when retrieving under slight load. To be fair I bought 2 and the other seems fine. Now I have to wait again for this reel to be fixed or replaced.
Is Daiwa mid range junk? Shimano offerings in the same price range are so much better!
Daiwa service - warranty is terrible! They make Shimano look really good.
Daiwa line rollers😕 Why no bearings in these mid range offerings, the Ballistic would have to have the most wobbly line roller I have ever seen in a reel.
Mag seal, what a joke, I am totally convinced it is useless and I know for a fact that some reels either don't have enough unobtainium oil applied to form a complete seal from the factory or none at all!
I know Daiwa make some good high end stuff but imho buyer beware in their midrange offerings, very disappointed.