Yes - beta readers or not don't guarantee quality, although if someone I know as a good writer/beta read a fic, I might be a tad more inclined to read it just for the name recognition value.

I have the hardest time figuring out who's a new author, though - just because I've never heard somebody's name doesn't mean they might not have been around for a long time :). The only reliable way to decide on whether or not to read I think is to look at the first two or three paragraps of a fic...