Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this shower head after reading all the positive reviews. I'm going to compare it to my current gold standard, the Siroflex. Unfortunately the newest model of the Siroflex has implemented unwelcome changes such as a non-removable flow restrictor and fewer holes, which made me look for another alternative online. First, the positives. The Aqua Elegante features silicone nozzles that allow for easy cleaning of water deposits that accumulate over time. This product also has different body finishes (I bought mine in chrome), so it will match the pipe color it attaches to, blending in with the surrounding fixtures. The water flow restrictor is also not built in, so it is easy to remove. The biggest plus is that the Aqua Elegante is as stated a high pressure shower head. There is no misleading advertising here. I actually measured the water output of this product for you guys. I marked the water level in a 5 gallon bucket after 1 minute of water flow. The pipe delivering water is a standard 1/2 inch pipe on the second floor of my house. #1 - The blue tape marked as '1' was the showerhead WITH the restrictor in place. After 1 minute of water flow, it filled up 45% of the 5 gallon bucket, equivalent to 2.25 gallons per minute. This is slightly below US Federal regulations which caps these products at 2.5 gpm. #2 - The blue tape marked as '2' represents both the Aqua Elegante and Siroflex with the restrictor removed. Yes, I was curious so I measured both. Each shower head produced the exact same water level after 1 minute of water flow, which was surprising to me as the Aqua Elegante was physically bigger. But the Siroflex has more holes, so I guess it evens out. After 1 minute of water flow, both shower heads filled up 65% of the 5 gallon bucket, equivalent to 3.25 gallons per minute. #3 - The blue tape marked as '3' represents the water level with NO shower head attached. As stated earlier, water output is from a standard 1/2 inch pipe. After 1 minute of water flow, it filled up 75% of a 5 gallon bucket, equivalent to 3.75 gallons per minute. I was surprised to learn that there is very little difference in water flow between this shower head and a naked 1/2 inch water pipe with no attachments. Notice that there isn't much difference between the water levels of #2 and #3! If the water flow is at 100% with no shower head, then the Aqua Elegante/Siroflex without a restrictor would allow 85% of the water through. Very impressive. Now the negatives. After using the Aqua Elegante I still prefer the Siroflex. This is because the spray pattern on the Aqua Elegante is much larger compared to the Siroflex. This has the effect of making you feel each of the 42 water streams since they are spaced further apart. In fact, it can feel quite unpleasant sometimes as the combination of strong water pressure and wide spacing of water streams makes it feel like you are getting an acupuncture with water needles. I don’t get this effect on the Siroflex because there are so many more holes in a smaller spray pattern that it never feels uncomfortable. Remember that despite the physical differences between the Aqua Elegante and Siroflex they output the same amount of water. Overall I feel that the Aqua Elegante is a good product for the reasons stated earlier, but I would still recommend the older Siroflex model if you can find it.