I would second the 'hold off and see what comes out in the next couple of months' idea. However, it would be to see what the Crossland is all about. It may also have it's issues as a 'first run' but it will be relatively cheap.

My curiosity is piqued for the Breville DB, but on a baseless assumption, I'm going to say that if it's going to be a FIRST machine than I'd wait until Breville has worked out any issues that arise from the GEN 1 or wait until user reviews that are indepth and truly tell you the story of the Breville.

I am weary of adopting new tech and products in 'espresso' due to my experience with the Vario. I still wish I would have put the LOT of money towards a titan.

So, other than the 'wait and see' approach, according to what I just said above, I'm also going to say that if you want to pull the trigger on something available now, there are certainly MANY options out there that will undoubtedly provide you with espresso pleasure that have been around for ages.

I can definitely recommend the Bezzera BZ07/BZ10 espresso machines

In my experience the cooling flushes are slightly longer than Jim says: 10-15 seconds. Or no flush or just a 1-2 second screen flush and accept a rising temperature profile in the second half of the shot and slight differences in average temperature between shots. I've never had a burnt shot when not flushing!

A compact double boiler machine is the Dalla Corte mini which sells for less than 2000 euro in Europe. don't know how much it costs in the US.

Another option with a small foot print is the VBM junior double boiler machine...it has no PID controle but an adjustable thermostat.

I had the same criteria and recently purchased the Rocket Cellini Premium Plus. My price point was bit lower but the E-61 head and perceived stronger commercial components convinced me to spend a bit more than my penultimate choice which was the Bezzera BZ10.

I am very new to this hobby and have relied a lot on this site and the web in general so I am now looking forward to a real world education.

I cannot imagine that any machine in this price range would not be adequate in skilled hands. Good luck.