Cranky,
I don't qualify as a long term owner, only a couple of months. However, after running about four pounds of coffee through the A3, the only surprises continue to be the amazing quality of the espresso shots that I am able to pull. I continue to be amazed with the forgiveness in this machine. Dosing and distribution have a new level of acceptable variation in my limited experience. My comparison is two years with a Pasquini Livia 90 which I thought was very unforgiving. I had my 'ritual' nailed down and I still never achieved the reproducibility nor the quality of shots.
If you like steamed milk based drinks, this machine has huge capacity. I have had very limited experience on a LM professional machine, and the steaming capacity of the A3 seems very comparable to me. Personally, I like to steam only 4-6 oz. of milk at a time which is a problem with the stock 4-hole tip. With a 2-hole tip, it is very quick but manageable.
I went ahead and
insulated my machine before I set it up. My concern was that I would never get around to it after it was installed. Hence, I can't give you a before/after comparison. However, I did try out the machine for a couple of hours without insulation. The machine was hot to the touch not only on the cup warmer tray, but also on the sides. After using the 1 inch ceramic insulation, the sides of the machine are barely above room temperature, and the cup warmer runs around 130-140 degrees, but only towards the front of the machine. The top and rear of the machine are much cooler.
I recently ran the machine 24/7 for about a week. The observations above still applied. I only have about 1 inch clearance between the lip of the cabinets and the top of the A3. The cabinets are barely warm from underneath. The heater cycles, but I don't have data for how much less. What I do find is that the group is the biggest source of heat loss now. During standby periods, I wrap a clean kitchen towel around it and the portafilter. Amazingly, this cuts the cycling down even more. The only area that still runs hot to the touch is the upper part of the front panel where the plumbing from the boiler attach to the water, steam valves and the group attach. My next project is to find insulation tape to use on these feeder pipes.
Would I do it again? Yes. The machine is very well built, and is very attractive. More importantly, even I can consistently pull shots with the smoothness and the subtle flavors that I have only found on rare occasions from professional baristas.
Good luck with your decision.
