November 25, 2012 - 5:16pm
KA Standup Professional Mixer
I currently have a 5 qt KA mixer. Works great and is about 16 years old. I am looking for an upgrade - larger capacity and stronger motor. I mostly use it for cakes, cookies, icings, and very occassionaly bread. I am considering the KA 600 Professional series (6 qt) but am undecisivie based on all the internet reviews, mainly that it is really noisey and some of them break within months.
Would appreciate input...
Is it noisier than the regular 5 qt heavy duty KA mixer??? How noisey is it (unbearable?)
I made bagels for the local farmer's market for 2 seasons and destroyed my 6 qt KA (20 batches of a stiff dough every Friday will do that pretty quick). I upgraded to a 10 qt Anvil mixer and it does a great job. Don't belive anything that calls itself "professional", that's just the usual stuff with a shine on the buttons. If you want a workhorse, look for the word "commercial", as in built to work hard and keep going. The Anvil is just slightly taller than the KA so it doesn't take up much more room.
I use a Rival 7 qt mixer, had it for almost 20 years. The first ten years I made bread and dense cookie doughs several times a week and it never complained. I don't use it as often now, but it's still quite happy, even when I overload the bowl.
Returning # 3 in 2 years (architect 6 qt, 575 watts). Should be fine for batters and high hydration bread dough, but for stiffer doughs, just doesnt have the power or durable parts. First one either broke a gear or a bearing, second just stopped working, and 3rd started smoking...a lot!