I had a Profitec Pro 500 non-PID for 4 1/2 years, and it's a great machine. But IMO any HX will need you to flush overheated water to get the right temp to brew, whether it has PID or not. There may be other opinions on this. Otherwise you could set the temp lower on the machine so you don't have to flush, but then the steam power will suffer, and the machine will have a hard time recovering quickly to make back to back shots.
Also the temp accuracy is not going to be super tight, and the temp profile won't be flat. on my former Pro 500, it was a declining temp profile. some machines that recover very fast (so called HX dragons) may have a rising temp profile. some want super stable temps. some think a declining temp profile is desirable. I haven't encountered anyone who thinks a rising temp profile is good, but who knows.
So you have to ask yourself if you're willing to do the flush technique to get the right temp for your brew, and you're ok with pretty good but not super accurate or stable temps. If yes, then consider an HX as it will serve you well and save you some money. If no, get a double boiler and don't look back.

for the flush, are you just talking about the 5 or so seconds before doing a shot? that wouldn't really bother me, i thought with the addition of a pid, you don't have to do that anymore. Anyways in Canada everything is so expensive, have to get into the $3k + to get a double boiler, except the Silvia Pro and the Profitec 300 off the top of my head. it's funny because our Silvia was having problems so it started with just replace with a new v6 to add another $1k, now add another $1k, coffee stuff is expensive, lol..

I'm not familiar with the new Profitec Pro 400. It looks to be similar to the espresso-only ECM Puristika in appearance, with some kind of switch underneath. (The Puristika photos show "Profitec" on what I believe it its OPV.) The user manual is unfortunately not linked at https://www.profitec-espresso.com/en/products/pro-400

I sort of like the Puristika/Pro 400 vibe, compact, classic E61 styling. I'm not sure about the off-board water tank of the Puristika, and don't know if the Pro 400 has that as well. Glass is a lot easier to clean than the typical plastic, and doesn't harden under heat the way that many in-machine reservoirs do over the years.

"3 preset modes for water and steam temperature" doesn't immediately suggest that it is a competitor with the Mara X more than just on paper. It is not the switch that makes the Mara X stand out, but that it controls the group temperature with its PID, rather than the boiler temperature. I'm guessing that Lelit had some good patent attorneys as I haven't seen the feature on other machines. Unless someone tests and shows that the Pro 400's temperature repeatability, without intervention, for multiple, sequential shots without waiting minutes between is

"Switchable preinfusion" is something of a head-scratcher for me as well. Unclear if it has any advantages over the in-built slow-start of a classic, E61 group.

Profitec has a good reputation. If it appeals to you and you are willing to deal with a flush routine to manage temperature, it is probably a good choice. If you go with an HX, I'd recommend an EricS group-head thermometer to improve temperature repeatability of your flush routine.

xman111 wrote:for the flush, are you just talking about the 5 or so seconds before doing a shot? that wouldn't really bother me, i thought with the addition of a pid, you don't have to do that anymore.

Could be 5 seconds, could be 20 seconds, changing from day to day and shot to shot. See, for example, HX Love - Managing the Brew Temperature

A PID controlling the steam-boiler temperature* does little or nothing for managing brew temperature on an HX machine, despite marketing claims otherwise. HX machines work because there is a huge differential between the steam-boiler temperature and that of the brew head. The brew temperature is a mix of the group-head temperature with the temperature inside the HX, which will be a bit below that of the steam boiler, or may be a lot below, especially after a shot. There are too many unknown and reasonably unknowable temperature drops along the way. Even the amount of air blowing over the group head can make a big enough difference in brew temperature to allow that to be a way of controlling brew temperature reasonably accurately.

HX machines that claim a "walk-up, no-flush" shot in the home usually have highly modified thermosiphons that can cause other problems, such as slow rebound (several minutes wait for the temperature to rise sufficiently for the next shot) or stall. There have been varied results with the Pro 500, suggesting just how finicky the tuning of their thermosiphon is.

* The Mara X, though an HX, uses its PID to control a sensor that reflects group-head temperature. This is different than the generally available "PID-controlled HX" machines.