Well, the automated ones. The manual ones like [1] are just the essence of what makes espresso and hence can in theory produce the exact same thing but at a fraction of the price. Main problem is that most parameters are controlled by the user, not the machine, so consistency is not easy to achieve. Especially temperature control is hard to achieve. On the other hand: want longer preinfusion? Just do it, no buttons needed let alone a manual.

I have such machine and for that price combined with not having to wait for a Faema to heat up, take a rather large amount of space and whatnot, and given that I drink one max two espressos a day, and that those are so close to what a professional automatic machine produces: totally worth it and no regrets yet. I used to dream of an espresso machine producing those super tasty beverages which in my country are really hard to find (compared to Italy of course), now I just have one, and it's maintainance and hassle-free as well and is going to last a very long time (basically only one rubber ring which is replacable). Which cannot exactly be said of automatic machines.

[1] http://www.cafelat.com/robot.html

> not having to wait for a Faema to heat up, take a rather large amount of space and whatnot

And whatnot. I started turning it off at night (not recommended by manufacturer) and at the same point in time I started charging an electric car that is used daily.

The power bill has gone down.

The electric car uses less power than the Faema E61. Not good.

"Really good" starts at $400 for the Gaggia Classic Pro.

single boiler, vibratory pump, temperature surfing, bad OPV.

it's definitely good, but needs love to become "really good"