I can honestly say I have never, ever broken a ball in my Freak barrel, and seeing as I have an Angel & play back in tourneys I tend to shoot a little bit more than 5 shots at a time (like most of a hopper on the break)!
I suggest you check the quality of the paint you're using.
Having both, I'd go for the Boom for reliability but the Freak for versatility. I do get less breaks with a Boom (in fact, none) but greater range and accuracy with the Freak.
i am looking to upgrade my barrel too and i have a new tippmann 98 custom....i just got into the sport and im looking for something around 50$.....anyone have a clue which barrel would give me the best accuracy and distance?
For $50, a Lapco is a good buy. The bigshot is for large bore and the autospirit is for small bore. They have little porting and may be louder than other barrels. But they are accurate as hell.
Oh yeah, one more thing: Lapco usually makes them only in 12" but they have recently made them is 14" as well.