Gday Princess (deep and reverent bow from the waist ;)),
Welcome to CoffeeSnobs [smiley=thumbsup.gif], hope you find the journey interesting and fun ;D.
We dont get to hear of many members with the KitchenAid machine. From all reports they are well engineered and well constructed and do a good job, and look pretty good into the bargain. As you say though, they arent very cheap and, as it happens, also not widely supported here in Australia :o. For the sort of money youre looking at paying for such a machine, it would be well worth your while to discuss a few options with some of our Site Sponsors, listed on active links at the top L/H corner of the page. Depending on where youre at, you could contact Barazi in Brisbane, Cosmorex in Canberra or Talk Coffee in Melbourne, to name a few ;). They wont steer you wrong and will back-up anything they recommend to you with years of professional experience and knowledge in the industry.
Give em a try, Im sure you wont be disappointed :). All the best,
Mal. (Bowing from the waist again as he backs out of the room :P)