Powell blamed it on wear and tear, which was amusing because I was mostly skating curbs (not slappies necessarily), fairly low ledges, and skating around SF to/from work. I followed their exact cleaning instructions, yet they noted that some chemicals can degrade the races and I couldn't rule that out.
Around the same time that I got my second set of Atoms a few friends ordered some. They've also had great luck and some of them post on here semi-regularly. Frankly I don't get why there's so much animosity for a brand when people ask what you're riding and someone responds that they're riding Quantum.
Bearings aren't that complicated. There's a bunch of lower tier (sub $15), middle tier (~Reds, Quantum Metallics, G3), and upper tier (any Bones Swiss, Bronson Ceramics, Quantum Atoms/Isotopes) options all of which will work great save for any heavy wear and tear or fluke product issues.
To someone that asked about ultrasonic cleaners I always use one. I have it from when I rode bikes and cleaned my chains. Works great for getting little specs of bullshit out.