Pros: Aqua Clean Water filter 5000 cups w/o descaling. Great design w/o taking to much space. Water temperature is HOT. Good Crema. Burr grinder works well. Cons: Water capacity small. Bean capacity small. No cup warmer (not a big concern, but I will mention it.) My biggest con is the milk frothing tube. This is made from cheap plastic and in my opinion it is ugly and does not give a great froth. With the price of this high end machine Saeco should include a panarello frothing wand. Besides making great froth, it would be easier and better looking then the plastic tubing.

This product meets my requirements perfectly as it allows the use of beans and powder.

Overall I am very pleased with this machine. The coffee tates excellent and it is easy to use. My only concern is with the weekly cleaning cycle, removing the brewing unit to clean it is straightforward but pushing it back to engage does cause the plastic unit to flex and creak. The fact you can buy new units makes me think this a part expected to fail. For the price of this machine this is not what you would expect.