I received a Benchmade 943 w/154CM blade a month or so ago and it wasn't as sharp as I thought it should be right out of the box.
I just purchased a used 940TI w/s30v blade and even after being used slightly by another forumite it was still sharper than the 943 that I bought brand new.
I am not sure why some Benchmades come through with a not so sharp blade, maybe our expectations are too high, if all blades were hair popping sharp a lot more people would be cutting themselves.