Loud? Yes. Vibrate Enough to Make the Shot Glasses Dance Right Off the Drip Tray Cover? You Bet. But, oh, how sweet it is...
Positive Product Points
Simple, Basic...probably the fewest moving parts of any consumer pump-driven machine on the market.
Negative Product Points
Vibrates enough to make the shot glasses dance right off the stainless steel drip tray cover. A little noisy at 7:00am.
Detailed Commentary
Yes it's noisy. Yes it vibrates like it was built for something other than brewing espresso. But despite what some naysayers are writing about this machine, it has performed well beyond the $150.00 I dropped on it a few months ago. I will admit, I am no expert on espresso machines. But if you are a regular, working class sort of person who doesn't have the luxury of a six-figure trust fund to blow on an Italian machine with an unpronounceable name, you might want to look at the XP4030. While i have arrived at a place where i am greatly pleased with what comes out of this machine, I am still working to improve on the strength of the espresso and thickness of the crema. I will try and write a three month review which I realize won't help anybody who is looking at this machine for Christmas. However, if you were sitting on the fence, i'd say shell out the $150.00 - $200.00 you're likely to see this bad boy retail for. It's not a bells & whistles kind of machine, but that's exactly what I love about it; it's simplicity is what has made me a believer up to this point. Time to go pull a shot.
