Espresso Italiano: are the new machines any better?

Whereas my Breville Cafè Roma got attacked by ants damaging the internal pcb board (I already bought the new replace but haven't mounted yet) I had back to my vintage Gran Gaggia espresso machine and...yes, its powerful pump, very hot boiler, wider diameter canister (inner width 58mm),  still make for a damn good shot of real espresso.
I still love my Breville Cafè Roma as it's very easy to use and good looking in its metal case. It comes with a couple of  pressurized metal canisters (no rubber disks, no springs, no fiddly mechanisms). Breville Roma canisters (for single and double shot) are  both 51 mm (outer diameter ~60,5 mm) and fit perfectly into the group head even stuffing a full 14g of coffee (double shot).
Despite the smaller canisters than the old Gaggia, it's easier to get crema with the Breville Roma, probably due to the better pressurized canisters, or maybe because it's easier to match the perfect amount of coffee (you just need to get the canister full to edge, can't go wrong).
The Gran Gaggia is more choosy about it: make a full canister and can't lock in the group head; filling less coffee in the canister could turn into "acquetta" instead of a real espresso. You need to find the proper dosing to get a proper coffee and that's a bit tricky.
That said, the Breville's thermoblock can't really compete against Gaggia or Saeco boilers. Boilers can give you hot espressos where thermoblock systems make it almost warm, and unfortunately this affects the taste of your coffe. So you want it hot and vintage machines, as long as they came with boilers, can still make a better coffee.
I noticed there are lot of vintage espresso machines far better than their newer models. Saeco in exaple.
Once "Sergio, Arthur e compagnia" founded their company near Bologna on 1972, then few years later they also founded "COSMEC", on 1986,  producing hight level components for their machines (so the old Saeco Aroma Nero/Bianco espresso machines originally came with a special marine brass boiler and 70w very powerful  pump made by "Cosmec", where nowadays the same labeled machines come with cheaper steel boilers and 50w pumps made by the Italian brand CEME, which is producing the cheaper ULKA pumps in Zhongshan, China).
Despite the old names, newest machines in my honest opinion just represent their companies cost-cutter efforts.
Old machines were better built, and that includes better boilers, wirings, sturdier water tanks and body cases, less cheap buttons, long lasting pumps, and most of all ...no pcb boards where ants could get in and make your espresso machine know out.