Short time to heat up. Makes great espresso and froths well. Water filter difficult to replace, not every dealer has replacement cleaning bits and pieces. Overall, a really good machine, excellent coffee, if you keep the machine clean after every use. Ours is on all day, every day. Difficult to get any questions answered from Sunbeam, seems they want payment for even a question about how to change water filter, as this is not covered in the manual.

After returning for repair 3 times in first 6 months it made OK espresso.
Needed new rubber seal after 12 months use, then again after another 12 months.
Typically used to make 4-6 cups per day.
Owned for 2.5 years & group head is worn out. It is now junk.
$A600 is a lot of money for a piece of crap that wears out in under
3 years.
If you are considering one of these Sunbeam EM6910 - DON"T !
Spend a bit extra & get the Rancilio.
It is really just as easy to use.

Very good value for money, this machine provides excellent coffee quickly and reliably.

This is one of the two machines of choice for most home enthusiasts that expect to be able to drink better coffee than at your average cafe without messing around for hours or spending over $2K on the unit. Some purists get a bit sniffy about the automation and the "thermoblock" bzzt...bzzt...bzzt sound but that is not a problem for me.

The main contender against the Sunbeam in the sub AUD $1500 price bracket is the venerable Rancilio Silvia (available from specialty Barista supply houses for about AUD $750 - $850), For me the Sunbeam is the clear winner based on convenience - from turning it on to the first sip on the Sunbeam is about 6 minutes, for the Rancilio is about three times that if you want an equivalent cup.

The Sunbeam will deliver much better coffee than most "fully automatic" (ie, with built in grinder) equivalents in the AUD $1200+ price range and is easier to clean up and maintain.

Automatic modes are also a good option where not everyone in the household can be bothered messing around temperature surfing and fiddling every last parameter.

Make sure you pair it with a good conical burr grinder ! A good machine will make rubbish coffee using sub $100 "spice" grinders (with the rotating cutters). Again, the matching Sunbeam em480 cafe series grinder (plastic or stainless) is the machine of choice for home enthusiasts who like value for money. (one gripe is that I do not think the grinder is available in red to match the 6910R)

For an office machine a different set of requirements make this less of a clearly outstanding option but for making a few cups a day on short notice it would be quite a reasonable choice.

I have owned the Sunbeam EM6910 expresso machine for at least 2 years now and would have put through over 1000 cups (comfortably) using the machine. I have my own grinder (so that last reviewer is correct - you need the flexibility to change the courseness of the coffee grinds - so a quality burr grinder is a must!. I only use the single wall baskets - as they use the most skill in providing a good cup - you need a carefull balance of ground courseness and tamping to provide the back pressure to the water as it moves through the grounds to achieve a stunning extraction. The double wall baskets are much more simple, but provide a far inferior cup. The single wall basket gives you such complexities in the flavour & taste that there is no comparison between the two. I have had so many 'devoted' coffee drinkers come round to our house who have (every one of them) stated that the coffee that I made for them from the Sunbeam was easily the best they had ever tasted. Obviously, the beans have a hell of a lot to do with the finished product also - I have tried well over 30 different varieties and have very happily settled on a blend called 'kenya special blend' sourced from 'Aroma Fresh' coffee who are situated on North East Road, Kelmzig in South Australia. They import coffee in large tonnages & supply a great deal of the cafes & bars across the metropolitan arean (they are quite a large concern). This coffee combined with this machine has blown me along with many others away with the quality of cup that i have been able to produce. I have not had one single problem with the machine. i have two other friends who have the same machine and neither have had any dramas. I am very very happy to recommend this machine to anyone - the results are second to none. Incidently, this machine was reviewed by 'Choice magazine' - a fairly notable consumer magazine in Australia - as the number one coffee machine under $2000. This machine can be bought for anywhere between $550 and $650 in Australia - stunning value for money. I hope this helps - I was considering spending up to $3000 on a machine & I am soooo glad I didn't...

Would buy this Sunbeam EM6910 Cafe Series Espresso Machine again. It is easy to use and constantly produces great coffee with crema. It has two pouring spouts for single and double pour and 4 different coffee baskets to allow standard pour or aerated pour for double and single shots.
Steam pressure great and heats up milk to nice creamy consistancy.
Suggest having a good grinder as the machine does not work well with pre ground coffee as not fine enough.