Breville BES920XL Dual Boiler Espresso Machine

Make no mistake, the machine is a 5 star model, but when you pay a lot of money, everything should be 100% at the moment of receipt. The machine is beyond 5 star, but the warranty registration needs serious work.PROS:--A very solid machine with very few plastic parts--Double boilers mean you can froth and brew--Great design. There are locking wheels for ease of movement, the water tank locks into place, tools have an out-of-the-way hidden tray under the drip tray, lots of little extras like a metal tamper that has its own storage space to the left of the dispenser and a steaming wand with a good range of movement, not just side-to-sideAfter owning several automatic espresso makers (and spending a LOT of money for them), I got tired of having to buy a new one every few years when the parts would inevitably fail...not to mention the miserable customer service I received from a large, dual named company in the US who failed to honor the guarantee. I wanted something that was simple, but well-made and would last for more than 2-3 years. With this dual boiler and more basic, but better made, design, I think I`ve got a winner here, but...CONS:--Registering the warranty. It`s not as easy as it should be. They wanted the serial number (of course), the order number...uh, what? I ordered it through Amazon, and the number didn`t work. I finally just used Amazon`s number and erased digits until I came up with the magical 15 required.--Emails. You can`t just send in an e-mail to the company which would be a turnoff to me if I had some questions as a potential customer. When I submitted a query, it wanted my batch number...what? See above regarding Amazon. This time, I typed in a group of zeroes until it was accepted. You should be able to contact a company without jumping through hoops, whether or not you`re a current customer.I honestly felt like Breville was doing everything they could to prevent me from registering the product and/or sending an e-mail. When a client begins cursing at the computer when simply typing an e-mail, much less the registration, then something is grossly wrong.--No instructions with the machine. Yes, I found them online, but why? After spending so much money on the machine, do you really think I would have quibbled if the price had been a dollar or so higher to pay for the company to recoup the price spent on what should have been INCLUDED in the box?--Missing piece. My packet did not include the water hardness test strip. OK, this is something I can easily go out and buy, but why should I? Where`s the quality control?It might seem that I`m nitpicking, but, again, a lot of money was spent and small items add up fast.-------------LATER EDIT:While I still stand by my "nitpicking" in regards to registering the warranty, e-mail, no instructions, and missing test strip, I will give Breville a big 5 stars for swiftly addressing my concerns. They know they have an issue with warranty registration, so it will be interesting to see if and how it`s addressed. I respect any company that stands behind its product and Breville definitely did that.Meanwhile...this is an awesome machine!

The BES920XL replaced an ~8yr+ old BES830XL, which was our introductory espresso machine at home. The 830 served us well with one repair issue, a fractured valve, over the 8 years.Our espresso making routine changed drastically when we put the 920 on the counter and fired it up. The machine itself has a larger footprint, but nothing that created an issue. The center wheel feature is very handy. This makes moving the machine a breeze during those rare times that it needs to be relocated or moved for cleaning or maintenance.The setup is simple enough with the instructions provided in the documentation provided. Technical manuals/consumer device documentation is often a pet peeve of mine. Over the years in my profession as well as at home, I have noted that the composing and editing for such documentation is usually the poorest element of any product. The documentation provided with this machine was the best combination of clarity and completeness that I have experienced for home devices or appliances.The most drastic change in the making of an espresso can be attributed to the design of the machine including a double boiler. The water is heated quickly. The user is able to trigger the espresso process and engage the steam wand for the heating of the milk/cream. We have had the machine going on 2 months and use it multiple times a day yet, I continue to be marveled at how quickly and effortlessly the latte/breve can be made ready for sipping.One detail that I love is the design of the plug on the power cord. It is the same as is on our old 830. There is a ring shaped feature on the plug which is used to easily pull the plug when needed. This is a little thing, but to me it indicates the thoughtfulness of the designer and the management who signs off on the designs.The control panel has a timer feature, which we presently use, that can schedule the startup of the machine. This will have the water heated and the machine ready for the first shot of the day. Set it for the usual time and if there is a delay getting to it, or you choose not to sip some brew, the machine will go to sleep in ~60 minutes, if my memory hasn't failed me.One item I following up on is the filter that is in the water tank. The shape of the filter that came with the 920 is different than what is listed as replacement on the Breville site and on Amazon. I have some time to get this straightened out.I would purchase this again and recommend this to other households that enjoy coffee on a regular basis. This appliance is often the second reason i get out of bed in the morning.

I bought this product end of 2018, so this is truly a long term report.The first year was great. The feature set of the machine is perfect for me. It has just the right degree of automation, e.g. pre-infusion times. The Espresso it makes is tasty, not best in class, but for daily use very much enjoyable.And that was the reason why I bought that machine: A perfect blend of features and achievable results, for what I need.The problems started exactly 1 month after end of warranty - of course. It started making noises that sounded like steam is leaking on the inside. Shortly after small amounts of water would come out of the machine through the housing (see picture). I called customer support and they offered a free repair. This meant I had to live without the machine for a couple of days and go through the efforts of packing and shipping it. But stuff happens, so far so good.I received the repaired machine, all worked - for a year. And then the same as first time happened. After a long and exhausting email exchange and several phone call I could send in the machine a 2nd time for free repair.Currently I have the same problem again! Nine months after I got the machine back. Customer support refuses to do anything about it. They offer to repair for cost. To fix an obviously systematic problem that occurs on regular basis. There I am now. A broken machine and no desire from Breville to help in a customer friendly way.BTW, I own Espresso makers for many years, know how to clean and maintain them. This definitely is not the problem. The total opposite, after de-scaling the problem got worse, which clearly shows that there is a leak.