The rental house we are in has a KitchenAid undercounter ice machine that is about 6 years old. This is the second machine in the house that is about 15 years old. As Sophie said, ice machines made by the Whirlpool Corp are basically the same no matter the brand. I'll share our experience for the benefit of others. I love the clear ice but am not crazy about the small, square cubes. They melt relatively quickly. If I were installing an ice machine, I'd want to go with a model that produces large cubes. But then those cost more than a KitchenAid, I think. We live in an area with relatively soft water. Even so, water takes a toll on the valves of the ice maker. In 6 years, the water valve has been replaced twice. We realized the ice production was way down, did some research and discovered the water valve was the issue. Once it was replaced, we realized the ice cubes had been getting smaller over the months but gradually enough that we didn't notice. For hard water areas of the country, I would recommend supplying the machine with reverse osmosis treated water. We have cleaned the ice machine with the special cleaning solution every 6 months based on when the "clean" light comes on. That process is simple. We use the solution recommended by the manufacturer and it is pricey - about $13 a bottle, one bottle per cleaning cycle. As this is a rental house, I do not want to use any other solution that I've read about on the internet that would be cheaper. As far as mold, when we moved into the rental house, it had been vacant for about 3 months. The AC had been on (at maybe 78-80 degrees) and the ice machine was on, too, but there was a lot of mold throughout the areas exposed to water. This type of mold is always challenge to life in the hot, humid South. I thoroughly cleaned the mold and it has not returned but I do keep an eye on it and clean as needed. The ice machine makes several different sounds as it goes through its cycles - draining noises, gurgling, cubes dropping. I don't find them obnoxious but then I am not a "hearing" sensitive person. The machine does put out a lot of heat as any machine that cools/freezes does. This should be a consideration for placement. I sure as heck wouldn't want it in my cooking zone. We are building a new house and considered an ice machine but just could not justify the luxury. In my opinion it is truly a luxury item because of the initial cost and the fact that it makes ice all day, every day. Ice production is not based on usage. If we entertained groups frequently, we probably would have planned for one.

We have the GE Monogram and I absolutely love it. Yes, sometimes it is oh so quiet and then it will go through spells where it is horribly noisy. Had the repairmen out several times and they are worthless. What I have learned to do is turn it off when I am in the kitchen and it is loud. It's just a cooler afterall and not a refrigerator, so it doesn't affect the ice already made. Also, this resets the machine and it isn't noisy again right away. Then I turn it back on at night or whenever I am leaving the area. I have been doing this for a year or so and it doesn't seem to be hurting it. I have about 6 months left on my extended warranty. By the way, I forgive it this annoyance because I am so happy with the ice!

Not sure if it's worth repairing, as I don't know what the problem is or what it would cost to fix. I do know that ice machines haven't fundamentally changed over the last few decades. I'd look first at the Manitowoc SM50 for its build quality, quietness, filtration, interior lighting, and neat crystal-clear octagonal ice cubes. It even has a button that will temporarily cease ice-making for 2 to 6 hours if you need perfect quietness, as it is designed for quiet office boardrooms as well as residences. The Scotsman Brilliance or their somewhat less expensive DCE33 series, are good second choices. It too makes crystal-clear, nicely shaped ice, and like the Manitowoc has a convenient high-mounted ice-storage area, and is 15" wide. The Brilliance has a lighted bin. Both of these should be reliable, especially the Manitowoc - these companies mostly build larger machines for commercial customers like restaurants, hotels, and bars where reliability is crucial. These devices need a drain; if you don't have access to one that's below the level of the machine, you'll need to specify the optional water pump. Don't know much about the Sub-Zero. I don't like the Whirlpool-built ice machines (a.k.a. Kitchenaid, Maytag, Jenn-Air, Kenmore, etc.) - small rectangular ice cubes and lower, harder to reach ice compartment. The Marvel also has an oddly low ice compartment, rather than at the top of the unit when you open the door. I don't have much/any experience with GE's, U-Line's or Perlick's ice machines, beyond that only U-Line has an undercounter refrigerator that makes clear ice cubes (24"w).

Providing filtered water to your ice maker might result in better tasting, or tasteless, ice cubes, but whether they are crystal clear has more to do with the freezing dynamics at work and I doubt that your home refer could do it (the temperature is not low enough).