The first machine I bought when the seemingly innocent thought bubbled up "I bet it would be fun to type again" was a Royal Quiet De Luxe like the ones you picture. It was everything I had hoped a typewriter would be and this happy coincidence (or was it) helped things along as the fatal follow up casually remarked "Well, how about a few backups"?

Since then I've encountered machines that were more than I could have hoped a typewriter would be, so the original QDL's (good enough to get their own abbreviation) have gone back to sleep in their carrying cases. I have no more hands nor hours in the day than the next man. But I agree with "simple and satisfying", and could add "solid, centrist, yoeman" and other good adjectives for the American Volkswriter.

Putting in my two cents here, but I value all of the above pretty much equally, and I can also say that having repaired typewriters for the last thirty-five years, I have found there are many typewriters from portable manuals to electric uprights that fit these descriptions--some to a greater or lesser degree than others.  Most any typewriter that has been properly cleaned, oiled, and maintained can achieve high marks for touch and response. Because of its basic design, the typewriter is generally solid and reliable, unless it is decidedly cheap and slipshod of construction as to remind its unfortunate owner that his/her machine was made by a hung over crew on a Monday morning at gunpoint.

Rushwarp wrote:

HI Repartee, 
Now you got my curiosity tickled...I know it is very personal, but what machines pray tell are more than you could have hoped for? And which aspects are most important for you? Touch, response, solidity, reliability, etc.? 

My tastes change from day to day and week to week and since I just passed my first anniversary as a reborn typist I'm still running around like a kid in a candy store thinking "Wow, that's great! Let me try this one!"  Also I realize there are many, many variables at work: there is the particular machine, not just the general model, there is the condition of the ribbon and the platen, there is my mental condition and physical stamina, there is the evolving state of my technique and experience. There are a smorgasbord of things to appreciate and not all have to be present in every machine to love them: some are beautiful just as works of mechanical art, others you marvel at because of their age and the fact they are still in working order at all, some you admire because they still function though they've led a rough life, and many or all (thank you Uwe for this insight) you really have to get to know over a period of time before you can fully appreciate them.

To drop some names of species whose individuals I have encountered in a positive way I mention: Olympia SG-1, SM-9, Hermes 3000, 9, IBM model B (non-executive), Rheinmetall KsT, Remington Super-Riter...
I could go on. All are individuals and have strengths and weaknesses, but if you left me marooned on an island with any one of these, food, shelter and a good stock of typing supplies, I don't think I would suffer too much (scratch the IBM - my fantasy does not include a generator).

pdxtypewriter wrote:

...Royal Quiet De Luxe machines from the mid to late 1950s ...they are my favorite machines ...Anyone else put them on the top of their list in satisfaction?

It's nowhere near the top of my list.

I own an example of almost every generation Quiet De Luxe that was made, even the plastic version from the '60s that you don't see as often, and I much prefer those that were produced during the late '40s for their design and performance.  

But then again, rankings such as these are always directly influenced by the sample size someone is basing their assessment on, and other factors such as how much experience/exposure they have with different typewriter models, and the overall condition of each individual machine being compared; within a small group of typewriters it only takes a poor example of one particular model to make the one that it's competing against, a model that otherwise would be considered an average typewriter at best, appear to be really good.