N6 was practically an unbeatable combine in its day. 9700 White was only thing that would beat it. Unfortunately, as you said, the first 3 years of them were plagued with reliability problems. After that, 1982 and later models, the Ns were far more reliable with awesome performance. The R62_72 combines Gleaner has today have no rival in reliability. They are a totally different machine from the old Ns and just run and run and run. Your loss for not considering one. The 9600s were nearly as problematic as the first Ns when first introduced. The update book on them alone is about 3" thick. In this country, the 8820s are good running machines but the 9600s are plum wore out, literally, with holes worn clean through them. Even our loyal JD diehards have come to hate the 9600 and wish Deere would have stayed with the 8820. We see a lot more 9600s with more severe problems through our shops than any 8820s or even older Gleaners. Just what we've seen. That in addition to the ho-hum performance of the 9600 and its progeny relative to the rotaries and other conventionals out there make me refuse to believe that this is one of the best combines made. Then again, just my opinion. Regards.