Breville BES920XL Dual Boiler Espresso Machine

I've had this machine for about 6 weeks now and I love it. It works very well in all respects. The built-in shot clock together with the pressure gauge allow you to understand what's happening during a shot and dial in your grind. The controls are well situated and easy to use. I like the volumetric shot feature although I've found that the actual metered volume drifts around a bit from shot to shot. I also like the ability to back-flush the unit with or without the cleaning tabs and eventually the ability to descale at home. This machine has the power to sequentially pull shots or steam milk to knock off a bunch of drinks for guests.
I haven't messed with the more advanced settings like steam temp, brew temp, pre-infusion etc. but it's easy to see how to do it. I've got a good grinder now (Baratza Vario) and a very controlled and repeatable machine so it's all down to finding the coffee I like the best then start experimenting. Time will tell how durable this machine and all its internal components will be but so far it appears to be a lot of machine for the money.

I have only had the machine for two weeks so can only speak to it's performance, not it's robustness with extended usage. Having worked in a coffee shop I find the machine intuitively easy to handle and that my inner barista is happy with what I am able to achieve. I myself prefer to pull shots by volume and not time so I was very pleased at the ability to set that option. It is important to read the instruction manual so you know how to get at the guts of the programming options. I have burnt myself on the steam wand twice due to it's proximity to the group head so I would warn you to pay attention because the wand really is extremely hot. Like pretty much everyone else has said, you MUST get a good grinder if you want to avail yourself of all the espresso making power of this machine. I bought the brand new Breville BCG800XL and it's really an amazing little grinder. The machine delivered in a timely manner and well packed with no damage on the box. If anything changes I will edit my post. signed June 9 2015

Replaced my 15 year old Rancilio Silvia with this fantastic new machine. A great step up!