Initial thoughts after 5 days use...This is my third Breville. My previous two models averaged about six years of use. I'm hoping for the same out of this one. (Though the first - the Café Roma - is by far the best value for money and I would recommend it for those venturing into home espresso machines for the first time. And the second - the Infuser had a fair learning curve but produced a good coffee whenever I managed to get the grind right. )This one - a couple of steps up from the infuser - produces better and more consistent results. I think the built in grinder is a significant part of the reason. The stand-alone general purpose Breville grinder I used with my previous machine had difficulty producing a fine enough grind for espresso. However, the grinder in the Barista Pro is clearly designed solely with espresso in mind, and the adjustments are finely enough spaced that you can get exactly the grind you want.As claimed, it heats up and is ready to go in 3 seconds. A little unnecessary if you are using the grinder, as grinding coffee and tamping it down takes at least 20-30 seconds. But if you are in a hurry and have some ready-ground coffee, it is almost instantly ready to go.Is this Barista quality coffee? In my opinion, yes. The output is significantly better than anything I've bought in a disposable cup and compares favourably to the better coffee shops that serve in chinaware.I was concerned about spending this much on an espresso machine (I know some people spend much more, but...), however, I now think the extra expense over lower level (and earlier model) Breville machines was a good investment.ADDENDUM: After three years of daily use, I am still quite satisfied with the purchase.