Gets hot quick, good pump and consistant brew pressure means I have one variable consistant in my brewing.  Steam pressure is good.  It does need to be purged twice to remove as much water as possible.  Burn free is awesome.

Very good looking, rotary pump, black dials, simple appearance and solid construction.

The plastic cup retainer is cheaper to look at and detracts from the overall appearance.  The fact that you can purchase a stainless steal cup holder that looks far superior makes me feel disappointed that they went cheap.  Also my plastic cup retainer is broken.  I did not take off the plastic film as soon as a I bought it and I only noticed it broken the other day when I was removing the top.  So I am not sure of how it broke.  Either is was already broken or got damaged within a week!  I will contact the supplier and request a replacement.  

Also the location of the brew handle and the hot water spout are very close.  I have burned myself a few time pulling shot after using some of the hot water!

Pressure stat seems to have a large dead band (or is it me???)

After a year or so of research into espresso machines my requirements kept growing.  What was going to be a quick purchase of a francis francis X7 morphed into a HX machine and eventually the Rocket.

I reviewed alternatives from Isomac, Quickmill, ECM and Rocket.  In the end my shortlist was down to ECM, QM and Rocket.  The rocket won on appearances and minor feature differences.  Shortly after I decided to pay a little extra for the black dials and rotary pump.

I have been very happy with it so far and it is paired with a Vario grinder.  The first night I purchased 1 kg of Lavazza and four litres of milk and got practising.  Not long into it I dialled in my grinder and was pulling consistant double shots in 25 seconds.  From here I moved onto pulling shots and frothing milk.  The process seems to be consistant.  The only issue I have had occasionally is the large dead band of the pressure stat so if I try and start frothing I have to force the heater on and start as the pressure rises to 1.1 bar and then start frothing with the heater on.  A few times I got caught out when the pressure was low around 0.8 and tried to start the milk froth and the heater kicks in but it is too late and there is not enough steam pressure.

Reasons for my scores as follows:
build quality 9 - this thing is solid, well finished and the label is riveted on.  Compared to some other HX machines were I noticed it was glued on.  I deducted one mark for the plastic cup holder.  They sell a stainless steal one which is cheeky, they should provide the SS up front.
Usability 8 - I have no point of reference to compare it against.  However I was able to start pulling consistant shots very quickly.  one mark off for the hot water spout being too close to the lever, another point off for the dead band on the pressure stat means I have to pay more attention to the boiler before steaming.
Cost vs value 8 - again one mark off for the plastic cup holder.  Not having anything to compare it to, I deducted one more mark as it was slightly dearer than the other machines I considered.
Aesthetics - 9 - Once again one mark off for you guessed it, the plastic cup holder otherwise I love the look of this machine and is why I bought it.

Overall - 8 I rounded down to be safe and to avoid any additional emotional attachment.

I contacted espressocoffeeshop a few times requesting a discount a voucher, the first few times were ignored.  After the third time they replied and emailed me a code for approximately EUR 75 discount.  I purchased online and tracking information was emailed the next day.  I was able to track it shipping and it arrived on Monday after ordering on the Thursday before.  Overall a really good buying experience.