This topic often comes up and everyone has a different opinion.
I have had the Ultra Power, 300 watts, drop down head for about 7 years. Just got the 6 quart Pro.
My opinion is that for the average baker, the Ultra Power 300 watts is perfect. It has a large enough capacity, 4.5 quarts, for what most people need. It can handle two cake mixes or a double cake recipe, a double cookie recipe, icing recipes that take around up to 6 cups of powdered sugar. Some people do up larger icing batches, I just never could see that the results were as good so I stick to around 6 cups of powdered sugar maximum when making the icing from scratch. If you have two separate batches already made and wish to combine them for colouring and such, well yes, then that is fine. It works well, personally I find the drop down head a lot easier to work with, the way the bowl snaps on too, in general I find it the easiest of all of the Kitchen Aids to work with. It isn't strong enough to knead regular fondant but it can handle marshmallow fondant. And the big advantage is you can use it to whip 1/2 cup whipping cream or a couple of egg whites and it does the job. Plus there is a smaller bowl available for it which I find handy. I rarely have used the shield attachment because I didn't find that I needed to. I have one extra larger bowl and one small one which I use a lot. Also, the lids are a good purchase. I have never had any problems at all with this machine, I just love it!
The 6 quart, well it takes some getting used to if you haven't used an Artisan style mixer often. Personally I find it much more awkward as you have to snap the bowl to the back after you have placed the tips of the bowl onto the stand, so that is more time consuming. I don't particularly like how the beater attachments have to be attached, it is a bit awkward or more fiddly. Plus when you are done mixing, it takes a bit longer to get the shield off, get the bowl detached with all of the raising and lowering of the handle mechanism.
You cannot use this 6 quart machine for small batches, like for example beating a couple of eggs. It just doesn't work well for this because of the height differential to accomodate the attachments and bowl clearance. So if you purchase this one, you also need a smaller mixer for the small jobs. I wondered about this and contacted the commercial kitchen supply store that it was purchased from to determine if this was true and it is. In fact mixing up a cup of butter and a couple of cups of sugar, well there just wasn't enough in the bowl for the ingredients in bottom of the bowl to be mixed up correctly. The attachment shaft can be adjusted, but only so much, so the clearance is still too high for these smaller tasks. I was a bit disappointed to learn this as I had intended to give my smaller one to my sister.
Kitchen Aid pretty well recommends always using the shield attachment which works well, but again, one more thing to adjust or remove when you are ready to pour out your batter or use your dough etc.
It is quite tall so for some counters, it will not fit underneath regular top cupboards, if you have any form of valance lighting under your cupboards.
It is going to come in handy for some larger cakes, like wedding cakes or for a double batch of icing and when I want to triple a cookie batch, there is no doubt. But I really don't think this is the best purchase for folks that don't intend to do larger jobs or bake many cakes often. And you will need a second smaller mixer if you purchase this one.
I haven't tried it with fondant yet, I have heard mixed reviews on this, some people say it can handle regular fondant, others say no.
If I were to recommend which one to get, I would likely say for most people the Ultra Power 300 watts is the way to go, better price, still more than adequate power and handy to work with. I cannot comment on the other 5 quart mixers because other than the 5 quart Artisan, I haven't tried the others. The 5 quart Artisan worked well, but for the 16 ounce difference in capacity, personally, I find the Ultra Power works just as well, is much cheaper and though it isn't as powerful, there isn't much of a difference. Most people will never need that much power. Plus it is just plain easier, in my opinion, to deal with the drop down head.
Haha, and yes you can buy a Kitchen Aid with a problem. My new one makes a funny grinding sound every so often. It could be nothing, but the commercial supply store I dealt with is just going to order me a new one to replace it. They couldn't see me having to get a brand new machine serviced. This happens very rarely, but it does happen. So I will receive it in 2 weeks along with the extra bowl my hubby ordered.
I plan to experiment with fondant at that time.
Again just my opinion on Kitchen Aids. I find that many new decorators go out and buy the biggest, most powerful units they can find. But unless they plan to really do a lot of large jobs, well it just isn't a necessity.
I could be wrong but I find that there is a certain amount of "elite factor" associated with having the bigger 6 quart Pro and I suspect that is why a lot of people purchase these. But for a lot of people, bigger isn't necessarily better.
The 6 quart came with a free Kitchen Aid Food Processer which I have already used three times. This is also a wonderful appliance, haha, I feel like Martha when I hit that old pulse button! Truly a good thing! Beats the heck out of my old Moulinex in that it is much quieter and has a better capacity.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Squirrelly,

This was an excellent post explaining the pros and cons of both. Personally I have the professional 6 that I recieved as a gift, and I Love it, but I have used both and they are both good. My daughter in law has used mine (pro6), and her mothers (tilt head unsure of which model), and preferres the tilt head model. As you said the smaller one is great for the everyday baker unless they really need the extra power.

Wilma

you might also add, that the older models are perfect for cats to sleep in. This could be important buying information for some people who loves to let their cats do what they please. My Aunt did it for years. You never knew when you'd get a nice furball in your X-Mas Monkey Bread or holiday cookies.

Seriously, I love my Pro model. I wouldn't use anything but Kitchen Aid Pro from here on out. Unless I get a chance to get a HUGE Hobart one day. But I'd still keep the K A.

I have both, the Artisan 4.5 and the PRO600...still use both.

The only thing that I hate about the PRO is the noise. Anyone else have this problem, it sounds like a squeaky noise?

OK you are all making me feel like I didn't get a good one. I got the Kitchenaid Classic Plus. I have only used it once so far. It seems a little louder then the Artesian but I just don't have teh extra $150 to upgrade.

I had mine just under a year.It was so bad I wished I had my old Artisin back.They just replaced with a new one.It sounds real good..like it should.We shall see..it's good for a year to have it replaced.

I am in need of ideas for a Monolpy Cake..I need to do 3 next week.Any ideas?It needs to look like the game board..but I must say I am not thrilled at doing 3.So.please help if you have any ideas.
Thanks a bunch
Vicki

Well, if you have a dedicated printer, an edible image would likely be the easiest way to go. I doubt that you will be able to get any stores to do this image for you due to copyright law. Failing that, edible ink markers on fondant if you can trace and draw. Do you have to make the board accessories too? Any specific version of Monopoly or just the good old standard?
Edited to add, you could do a buttercream transfer, but it would be a lot of work.
Hugs Squirrelly

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OK you are all making me feel like I didn't get a good one. I got the Kitchenaid Classic Plus. I have only used it once so far. It seems a little louder then the Artesian but I just don't have teh extra $150 to upgrade.




For $150, buy a set of ear plugs....