My guess is your going to love a Breville DB. I was speaking to a educator at Toby's estate who has been testing/demoing the new Oracle machine and she said they are going to keep making the regular DB and the prices are going to drop to about below 700. That's a ridiculous good price. The prices are pretty good right now. At SCG, it is $900 (1k with 10% off coupon) new shipped to your door or $720 (800 with 10% off coupon) refurbished and shipped to your door. After selling your Gaggia+PID, it's an upgrade that doesn't hurt the wallet much.

When you say the regular DB, are you referring to the BES900 or the BES920?

900...I haven't done any research into what the changes were for 920. Still 720 for a refurb and 1 year ext warranty seems like a good deal for pid+db.

HX or DB you'll have great espresso.
For details on HX, and to know that they are very easy to use. Far easier than your Gaggia I would imagine.
/hx-love.html

With my HX machines I've usually pulled a cooling flush if it was sitting around for a while and then I can do back to back shots without the need to keep flushing. Really no problems there I think. If I were running a commercial setup that might not be my preference, but at home I like the HX.
Also before I pull a shot I always flush the screen anyway, so running the water just a little longer than normal will be the only difference.

Pull cooling flush. Wait at least 10 seconds and then you are ready to pull a shot. After that back to back shots are usually fine without a cooling flush. Steaming while pulling shots is easy on HX or DB machines.

What are some HX machines to look at? I basically have no experience with them but have heard that there are differences between a good one and a cheaper one.

As for the differences in the breville machines. I think it's basically lackluster control of the steam temp, ability to descale yourself, and some dose tool?

A few HX machines as an example:
Vibiemme Domobar series
Faema Carisma
Bezzera has several

Most manufacturers are making HX machines these days. So a bit of searching and user experience would be good to look into.

The Faema Carisma with that Faema name and an e61 group is a nice combination at $1550 new - has a PID too so you can set the boiler temp that way. If you call up one of the shops in the US selling it for that price, add in a few extras, and ask nicely and you can often get a little extra discount.

thank you for your suggesstions.

So Far I am fairly interested in both the Faema Carisma and the BDB 920. How exactly is a PID used on a HX machine as i've always heard that they aren't as useful on these types of machines? It seems like a PID on a HX is not for setting brew temperature. Do I need a method of getting the group temperature or is it able to derive using the PID? Say I had a darker roast and wanted a lower temperature, would the PID control that or would I need a flushing dance? Sorry if this is too specific, but i'm not quite ready to discuss with a retailer.

Is there a difference in the cup at this level or is it a matter of how you get there and looks?

I can see from your questions that you haven't read this:

HX or DB you'll have great espresso.
For details on HX, and to know that they are very easy to use...
/hx-love.html

As far as a PID on an HX machine, you would use that to set the temp of the steam boiler. That boiler in turn heats the HX water. It's not precision heating, but it's accurate. Read the above howto and you'll learn how HX's work, and how people use them.

You say you seldom make milk drinks. Why are we having this whole discussion about DB machines? Have you considered a top of the line e61 SB machine with PID such as the Quickmill Alexia. It fits within your budget, looks great, pulls yummy shots, and has full PID control. The only compromise is with steaming milk, and if you seldom or never do that - so what? Now, if you do value steaming - I am in the HX camp. Vibiemme, Bezzera, Quickmill, lots of choices.

I was also thinking that a PID'd Alexia would be a good choice for the OP.