Extremely well built for a home machine
Produces the best espresso shot available
Looks impressive in the kitchen

No water reserve indicator
The grind and tamp must be just right

I have owned a number of home espresso machines; the Rancilio is hands-down the best.  It is expensive and a little bit tricky to use, but once I bit the price bullet I have never looked back.  It is absolutely necessary to have a good burr grinder to use with the Silvia, as the grind must be exact or you can easily get thin or over-extracted shots.  I bought the Silvio Rocky grinder at the same time as the Silvia (and have never looked back).

The machine is formidable as far as home machines go, and is a handsome stainless steel box.  At first I wondered why I needed such a large machine (and I still wonder sometimes), but I trust that the heavy-duty components require a substantial housing.  The water tank is plastic and does the job, but I'm glad that it's hidden -- it's industrial ugly.  The water is cycled by two plastic hoses that rub against the water tank upon its removal and insertion, but after many fills there has been no wear.  I don't think that I will ever have to replace them, but if I do I doubt it will be difficult.  The head and portafilter are well made and easy to clean.  I have the early model portafilter which is coated brass.  Over time there has been slight wear of the coating and I wish that Rancilio had chosen a color other than brown, since judging the cleanliness is difficult.  The steam wand is just that: a wand.  No gadgets or frills, and with the high pressure the results are excellent.  The bottom grill and tray are both stainless so cleaning is easy.  The Silvia is a no-nonsense work horse that I expect to have around for a long time.

My daughter lived in Florence for seven years, so I had the experience of drinking many shots right in the land of espresso.  All were good, but some were exceptional -- those were the ones I wanted to emulate.  Using home-roasted beans and being careful with grinding (15-16 setting on the Rocky) and tamping (about 30 lbs.), the Rancilio can produce as fine a shot of espresso as I could find anywhere in Italy.  (I always use the "double" filter basket and never use the silly plastic tamper that cfame with the machine.)  I use glass cups so I can watch the crema build:  I usually get 1/2 to 3/4 inch per shot.  Regardless of how attentive I am to the grind, a few fines always get through into the cup, but I don't care about that at all.  In fact it seems to add to the autheticity of drinking pure, unprocessed, unfiltered coffee.  I have not paid any attention to the steam and extraction temperatures; I just turn on the machine and let it warm up for fifteen minutes or so.  When I make a (rare) cappucino, I steam the milk first then pull the shot.  I get a little delay before the shot starts flowing but it hasn't affected the taste.  I always run a blind shot before the first cup of the day to warm the portafilter, but that's the extent of any extra work I do (I'm lazy).

I have not had any regrets about the Silvia or the Rocky once I learned the parameters of creating the shot.

I bought this machine from Whole Latte Love.  They have always been a great vendor.