Well said I couldn't agree more. Once I got over my have to have LE phase and actually gave Pros a chance I found on some pins I actually preferred the Pro gameplay over other models. Or that the other models weren't worth the price gap to me. Which was very good for my wallet. It is great that Stern offers the Pros at their price point I think it has been and still is vital to keep pinball alive and well.

At first I did not like how they made different models but now it seems like the right thing to do. Some love the idea of having an LE along with the extras it provides and buyers of it help keep the Pro models in a reasonable price range.

To me what is gimped was the square box on the LE that took the place of the captive ball and the massive hammer that has it's issues and slows down gameplay. The square/flat pad on the LE really does effect gameplay and I found myself much preferring the captive ball on the Pro. While the lighting effects on Premium/LE are awesome a LED converted pro with some additional mods is not bad at all. To me gameplay always trumps lighting features no mater what. But as you already mentioned it's nice they make each model so people can get the one that is right for them.

Of course it is natural to have LE buyers that paid a premium for the pin to emphasize how much more awesome it is then the other models. Only natural I guess. However, it is important to realize not everyone is going to prefer the same thing as you no matter how awesome you think it is.

I just prefer for gameplay not to be slowed down to lock the ball and dislike the size of it. It is cool how you can actually see the balls lock though. I don't think you will get tired of it you like it no problem with that.

I get what your saying I really do. All I'm trying to get at is for a pin like MET which I want to be high energy fast and furious I don't want the ball stopped and hammered I just want to keep on keeping on. Not saying I'm against all physical ball locks (especially in the center of the playfield) but rather for this pin I prefer not to have one.

I agree it goes both ways for sure. It just seems to me that LE owners are typically the ones to get immediately defensive when someone says they don't like something on the machine. People will have different preferences some find it unfathomable that someone would like something different then themselves. Some even make fun of others because they prefer something other then the majority of other pinheads online. Which is a little silly.

What you call delusional is someone with a different preference. For example on XM LE I hate the colored lighting they have in the GI and much prefer the GI lighting of my heavily modded Pro. I know you may not agree but it's my honest preference. I don't think the hammer blocks anything but I do think it is much too big and I prefer the look of the machine without it. Just a preference not a shot at any LE owner.