Years ago, KA mixers were made by ***, and they were the best home mixer you could buy. Now, the company is owned by ***, and although they still are beautiful on the outside, the mechanics are cheap. The price has not gone up much in the last 20 years, and that is really the problem. The real ***, which still looks a lot like the KA, costs well over $1000 for a 5 quart mixer, because they are expensive to build. KAs are relatively inexpensive because the build quality is poor. I own a Pro 600 (purchased elsewhere) and it got bogged down with any bread dough that is under 60% hydration, even a small batch. Bagel dough (my recipe is 55% hydrated)? Forget it. First, it hops around the counter, then if left running, it overheats and makes a terrible noise. And since it seized up on a 1 1/2 pound batch of bagel dough recently, it does not do much at all except look pretty. Less than a year out of warranty. On something I had expected to pass on to my kids, based on the old KA reputation. If you primarily want to make very moist bread doughs, cakes and meringues, you will probably be fine with this machine. If you want to make artisan breads, whole grain loaves, and other heavy doughs, or if you want to make large batches of dough, spend the extra money and get a *** or an *** (yes, it is spelled that way). And if you don't need the large capacity of these bigger machines, find an old used *** Kitchen Aid or get the smaller *** mixer. If you want this for bread, I also suggest you go to thefreshloaf.com to do some research. There are tons of discussions on mixers, and you will see that my experience with KA Pro mixers is sadly, quite common.. For the record, I am ordering the ***.

• How did the color on site compare with the actual product? Color is not a problem, the mixers are beautiful
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Looks durable but it isn't
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? Comes from KA literature
• Would you recommend this to a friend? No