Well, I'm going to sing the praises of my KA......I love my KA artisan. I have a big family, bake lots of cakes, cookies; I mash potatoes in it; since Christmas I've been using it to knead bread dough a couple times a week. It's about 7 years old, is a real workhouse for me.

Sherry

I'm not much help but most people do like KA. I think the breaking ones are just flukes. Plus I'd like to add why in the heck do people take issue to husbands buying their wives a gift they want? I just don't get that...if I want a circular saw...what business is it of anyone elses. To me something like flowers is a total waste of money unless it's flowers I can plant in my yard...ya know!

Another bit of my 2 cents...if you want to try a cheap mixer then buy one and if you don't like it, take it RIGHT BACK IMMEDIATELY. That's my suggestion. Be sure and buy it some place that is easy to return to.

I have a DeLongi as well as a KA. There are pros and cons on both...
My KA does not fit into the garage on my counter, so I keep the Delongi there. It has a bigger bowl than my lift KA.
The Delongi is very noisy and the finish peeled where the bowl sits within a year. It has some design flaws in my opinion..one being the bowl, though nice and large, has no handle.

The KA is very heavy, and since I can't keep it where I want it, it is hard to lift.

They both do a good job. I use the Delongi more , dh uses the KA.
I did catering for awhile, and the larger bowl on the Delongi was a big help in making large batches.

I think the Delongi will die before the KA..but not being an appliance doctor, it is only a guess! LOL

Good luck with your decision...having 2 kinds I tried to be unbiased! :)
The cost was the same or a bit more for the Delongi than the KA.

With a Hamilton Beach from 9 years old I made cookies/brownies every Sat. for the weekly sweets (5 kids ~ double batch). And the birthday cakes. Mom did the mashed potatoes. Of course as a new bride I got Hamilton Beach. 10 years later I chose Braun (for bread and attachments) over Kitchenaid and kept the HB. My mother-in-law had the Sunbeam which did not allow the beater unit to be used off the stand for 5 minute frosting. Whether they are made as well as they used to, another story.

I bought my KA Artisan from Amazon about 3 years ago and have had NO problems with it. It was a refurbished model with a six month warranty and it was under $200.00 Don't know if they still sell refurbished models but you could check out the KA website and Amazon.
Sorry can't offer any info on other brands. My heart was set on a KA and that was the only way I could afford one. :)
Murphy

i have a kenwood mixer
purchased it after burning out motor on my kitchenaid

Have been very happy with it

I think they the delonghi is a rebadged kenwood

8 years and still going strong that is a lot longer then the KA lasted

Stirfry, I bought a Hamilton Beach Eclectrics a few years ago when I broke my KA Classic. I tried to re-grease the silly thing (the KA) and couldn't get it back together. I liked the HB for the most part. It looked great and the motor had a pleasant sound. The pouring shield was cumbersome and useless though... just got in the way and was another thing to clean. I did end up returning it only because when kneading bread, the head shifted left and right and I thought that was bad. However, if you only make cakes and cookies, I think it would be sufficient. The one I tried was black, but they came in all kinds of colors.

I got another KA Classic to replace the one I ruined. It's OK, but if it broke, I'd run to Williams Sonoma and pick up a Breville. It's pretty new so there aren't many reviews of it now, but I have been so impressed with my new Breville iKon Hemisphere Blender that I would love to have their mixer too. (I did learn the hard way to rinse the blender out well, soap suds do not taste good when mixed with rum and lemonade, yuck!... LOL) I don't love the sound of the motor on the Breville, (there's a video on the page that I'm linking to), but I like that it comes with the scraper paddle as well as the "traditional" attachments. Right now, the Breville is only being sold at Williams Sonoma... it's 300 dollars. There is no attachment hub though, but I've never had any attachments for the Kitchen Aid anyway. Good luck with your decision!

I hear the new Sunbeams are total junk, but a vintage ones are nice, that's what I had as a teenager before getting my first KA.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breville Stand Mixer

I have the Bosch Universal plus. I bought it a couple of years ago all enthused with the idea of cooking, bread baking. It had a good reputation and I really loved the idea that there is no head on top as I am a hopeless "tinkerer" "scraper downer" and hate the idea of being blocked by the big over head of a KA style mixer. It also fits under cabinets better and is fairly light. Alas I have not used it. I don't know why or how but I ran into the idea that you have to add ingred in some sort of different order or something. I could never quite figure out why or when or how without living and breathing and using the machine all the time which was never going to happen so......not used. I made bread once. Since its light it might have a tendency to walk a little not sure, it has suction cups on the bottom I think.
You might check it out-it is supposed to be a good product and came with a mixer attachment too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pleasant Hill - sells Bosch Mixers

I have a sunbeam stand mixer DH got at walmart about 2 yrs ago. I'm happy with it although I don't use it very often, maybe just on holidays when there is a lot of baking.

I have an Electrolux DLX 2000 and a 20-year-old Kitchen Center. The DLX 2000 is expensive and capable to handle lots of flour in one batch. But I almost always use the Kitchen Center which can only mix up to 8 cups for two loaves of bread at once. My Kitchen Center sits in my kitchen and does everything except food processing. I love this work horse; it's old but very reliable. I guess I am too attached to move it to the basement. The expensive DLX hasn't seen the day light for a number of years but I never miss it. LOL

Al

I have two KitchenAids (one old Hobart K45 and one newer Pro 600) and a Bosch.

The Bosch offers the advantage of being light, portable (can be stored in a drawer) and is still very powerful. As I get older I find it more and more useful. However, there are some who would find the center post inconvenient. It does require somewhat more cleaning and you may find with small amounts that hand work with a spatula is needed.

Carol

Thanks. I keep reading that the KA's are "not what they used to be." I also keep hearing people complain that they start making weird noises after a year or two.

Either way, it is a big purchase to me and one I don't want to regret. Birthday is not until summer so I will continue to research and think about it!

I have a Sunbeam that my DH and kids bought me for Mother's Day in 1984! It gets a lot of use and still going strong. I've never had a problem with it! At times I think I'd like a new one, but then I think why, it's working just fine and gets the job done!

Stirfry, if you're not going to do bread in it, the little Sunbeam I have does a great job. This one was under $50 and the mixer does detach from the stand if you need a hand mixer.

About the only objection I have with it is that "low" spead is not low at all. But it has all the power that is needed to do cheesecakes, which was a necessity here.

Beth

I have a Viking 5-qt. stand mixer that I got for Christmas a few years ago from my DH (and, yes, he is dear to me for getting me a kitchen appliance that I love LOL). I decided on the Viking after my old KA finally bit the proverbial dust. It was a basic 300 watt model that was manufactured about 25 years ago. After having it leak oil from the motor head and having it re-greased and packed more times than I care to recall, I finally realized that it just didn't have enought power to keep up with what my needs are. The Viking was a good fit for me. Since the Viking came out, there have been others to follow suit, like the Cuisinart and Breville. I don't know how they compare to the Viking, but I'm very pleased with it. It is louder than a KA, but that doesn't bother me...as long as it does the job, that's what matters. It is a workhorse. BTW, it's manufactured in the UK, unlike many others, which are manufactured in China. Sometimes you can't get around buying something made in China, but given the choice I would prefer not to.

I'd just like to caution that reviews from people with vintage machines don't really relate to machines of today. They are lucky to have them but sometimes even a few years can mean a big differences in the company ownership and quality of machines.

So true marys1000 -- especially with the newer Rival Crockpots.

I have an older KitchenAid which was gifted to me by Nancy (wizardnm) back in my single/divorced/broke life cycle. I live in fear that she'll want it back, LOL. Well, actually, I know the old ones are better than the new ones and I offered to give it back if she wants it, thankfully, she hasn't taken me up on that. Anyway...

Before that I had a Hamilton Beach stand mixer that I burned up making divinity. Before that I had a Sunbeam Heritage model that I burned up making divinity. Neither were suitable for bread, they just weren't strong enough.

My stepmom has one of those Oster Center things and it does nearly everything, although the thing it got used the most for was slicing cabbage for sauerkraut.

Annie