Elektra ART-S1C Micro Casa Espresso Machine with 800 Watt Heating Element

I am not at all satisfied with the quality of the product. I would expect a close to $2K machine to perform entirely differently. I used to own a Pavoni Europiccola, a far less expensive machine and it performed significantly better, as a matter of fact I still own a 1996 Krups machine (original price was around $150) that I believe performs better than this machine. I bought a $125 DeLonghi machine for my father a few months ago, and I think that one even performs better. The taste of the coffee is good, but there is little or no crema, no matter how much coffee I put in it, it's still watery. The filter holder is difficult to place. The pressure on the cappuccino foamer is quite week, I can barely make a foam out of it. I was born and raised in Italy, I know what good espresso and cappuccino is supposed to taste like and this is not it. I am interested in hearing your suggestions on how I can improve the performance of this machine, perhaps starting with the recommended type of coffee. I have been using Lavazza Crema e Gusto, which works great on every machine, but it doesn't seem to work as well on this one.