Single Group

So I was in your situation and this is what I recommend. Machine: Machine Slayer single group. Hands down. Haven't pulled a bad shot yet, looks amazing in stock form. I considered LMLM but it doesn't look as good as the slayer on the sides. If you're stuffing it in a corner with the grinder hiding it, cool. Sanremo You has just as many features as the Slayer, a couple more actually, but you have to decide between the style of your kitchen or coffee area. That is the only reason I did not buy this machine. Water: Do not buy any of these machines without a proper water setup. Needs depend on region and kitchen design so I won't recommend a specific setup. However, you'll need reverse osmosis with remineralization or you'll be rebuilding your machine sooner than later. Budget about 2.5k USD. Also, keep in mind that if you are only hooking up to your machine for two coffees a day and not using it for day-to-day water use you may have sediment issues from highly infrequent use. Consider adding a water spigot and enjoy the benefits of filtered water in your home to push the volume needed to have the system operate within spec. Grinder: Two key considerations ease and convenience of grind by weight (GBW) vs single dosing. Downside of GBW is when I have the occasional guest request decaf, I either have had to have pre-ground an entire bag and packaged and frozen each dose in between grinding. There's about 2 to 3 doses worth of beans in the chute of my grinder. That being said, if you have a favorite roast it's no problem. Single dose doesn't have this downside, but it's more tinkering and more time. GBW: -Mahlkönig E80s -Fiorenzato all ground sense Single Dose -Kafatek monolith flat max if you're espresso only -Titus nautilus if you're pour over or drip Kafatek has specialized burrs that edged out the Titus for me. I'm espresso only. Nautilus has amazing customization options that go with Slayer, so check their Instagram. Remote power brick is manageable with Bluetooth controller since you'll have a plumbed in machine, but that's the big miss on this high end machine. -Weber eg-1 gets honorable mention but I don't think the build tolerance and quality matches either other option. Best of luck, let us know what you pick.

I was considering a mini or GS3 but went Slayer. Note OP needs a better grinder (I prefer Kafatek flat max), and needs to confirm appropriate water before worrying more about the machine IMO Otherwise, there's another ~2k in making sure that the water is correct.

I have a Slayer and was going to say Hennessy venom.

No. It’s better. I’ve had one alongside an LMLM, Slayer SG, Vectis, various Brevilles. Hands down, F58 bested them all for all beans/roast levels. Its workflow, however, was the worst. Not terrible (the preheated helps), but slow and janky. If you’re making more than a shot or two, the other machines make sense. Personally, I used the Vectis most often (next best in the cup), followed by the Slayer. The LMLM was relegated to the office, doing what it did best (medium dark flat 9 milk drinks all day every day.) Consistency is also tough on the Flair, especially for beginners who might lose their minds trying to dial in without the muscle memory to minimize shot-to-shot variables. To be h9nest, I preferred to dial in beans on the semiautomatics or spring levers, and extrapolate to the flair. For home I think the LMLM is not great value for money (unless you have a huge extended family demanding lattes every 2 minutes). The latest Mini R at least gets you proper preinfusion without having to plumb in. And the IoT integration+app is the stupidest thing ever. You can do better with ECM or Profitec, IMHO.

My hot take: Short answer is no. Even as a moderate discretionary expense, it did not represent great value for home use. It's very limited in capability (flat 9 bar, no pre-infusion without plumb-in, don't blather about pre-brew), but it does what it does extremely well. However, unless that is basically brewing a dozen shots back-to-back while steaming milk simultaneously on the regular, I don't see the value. So I installed it at the office, where 20-30 people abused it to the tune of 50+ shots per day and it was a champ. Easiest -- and the most heroically consistent -- with medium/dark italian style spro and milk drinks. On the other hand -- anyone who says the price premium is for the brand/badging alone hasnt looked inside. It is an exquisite piece of intentional and at times clever engineering. From the quality of the fittings and valves to the self-cleaning gicleur and cold water mixing at the grouphead -- this thing will outlive you if it's maintained well. It's just a pity that it seems to lack even basic modern niceties (proper pump pre-infusion, shot timer) There are other annoyances that soured me personally: the La Marzocco Home app and cloud integration is stupid stupid stupid. I mean just stupid. Why do I need the cloud to be able to schedule power on or set the fucking brew temperature? Don't bother, we all know the answer, and it is tragic that marketing dunces convinced someone at La Marzocco that IoTing appliances is a good idea. To add further (perhaps controversial) perspective: I had the LMLM on my bench alongside a Slayer Single, Flair58, and Londinium Vectis. Best in cup (but worst workflow): Flair58 for all roast levels. Next was the Vectis (for medium and light roast coffees), followed very closely by the Slayer. LMLM trailed except for darker italian style ristrettos that explicitly preferred flat-9 extractions. /end rant

I am gonna go against the grain and suggest Slayer Single Group paired with Weber EG-1

With no budget there are a lot of better options imo. Gs3, Sanremo you, that pro eagle thing James Hoffman consulted on. For a no compromises machine you want flow profiling of some sort. All this flat nine bar nonsense should go out the window at 2k. LM makes some great machines but the micra isn’t one of them. I mean why isn’t a slayer on your list? If you must have a LM go for the Strada X single group. That’s about the only thing I can imagine if I were up for a new machine and had no budget constraint.

In terms of the ability to pull a 'perfect' shot of espresso and steam milk with good texture, I'd say the base Rancilio Silvia with any good grinder is the mark.  I've owned a range of lower end machines and for example I wouldn't recommend the Gaggia Classic to anyone, despite it pulling a good shot in the right hands. I have disassembled the boilers on several and the corroded aluminium inside after 5 years is the stuff of nightmares. But I've also used a Slayer as a barista and it doesn't objectively pull a better shot than my current Silvia with home-installed PID.  There are some big quality of life upgrades available a tier or two above the base Silvia, like built in PID, dual boiler etc. But the Silvia has solid components, everything is replaceable, and it can produce a latte 100% as good as what I could produce on the Slayer.