OK, I can speak with authority on reviewing this machine after having owned the Kitchen Aid Professional (10 years), and the Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine (5 years). We presently have the Cuisinart 7 quart mixer. We purchased it after the drive boss on our Bosch rusted out (a design flaw, if it was made from stainless steel we would still be using it). I decided to try the Cuisinart because of it's power rating (more than Kitchen Aid) and the amount of parts to clean (less than Bosch). The Kitchen Aid we had was 325 watts and the Bosch had lots of power, but more parts to clean. Everything appeared to check out with the Cuisinart, big bowl (good for our large family, and bread making) and lots of power. However, after using it for a while it's design flaws soon show up and you realize the mistake you have made. Of course if you have no experience with other machines you will never know what a piece of junk it is. Does it have power? , Yes it does but with inferior designed attachments the power is a waste. The dough hook is of poor design, if you place all your dry ingredients in the bowl and add the wet when making bread it will not mix it, you need a spoon to get the dry ingredients from the sides to the middle. The standard mixing attachment and the whisk work ok though. The food processor is a total joke compared to either the Kitchen Aid or Bosch, to small and I gave up returning it and getting a replacement after three trips to the store. If you use the food processor to grate cheese I can guarantee you will break it. The blender attachment is also inferior compared to the Bosch. The feature it has of starting up gradually, instead of starting right away at the speed you have set, is annoying especially when using attachments such as the blender. The timer is nice but we don't really use it. When this one breaks (hopefully soon) I will return it and get another Kitchen Aid even though it has less power than the Bosch. My dream machine would be a Kitchen Aid with a 7 quart bowl and a 800 watt motor, are you listening Kitchen Aid. Oh, one more thing, if you decide to buy the Cusinart mixer, make sure you pick up a pair of ear muffs from the hardware store, your going to need them. At the highest speed it's like your at the airport watching the jets take off. Don't get sucked in like I did, buy the Kitchen Aid or Bosch, and you'll have a good machine for many years.