I can only tell my experience.
I was a 58mm pump driven shot junkie. When I got the PVL I kept my beloved Tinfoil Bamboo around for a while because I knew like I knew like I knew...that I would enjoy the PVL but there would be times when I would need to get those shots I was used to. My mind was in the understanding of the 58mm shot world and at that time I could not think to anything else. I read a lot about lever shots and to be honest I was pretty worried I would not like them.
The part a few posts up about the PVL being basic
as compared to PID control on 58mm shots is a classic example of thinking from the pump side of the fence. Now I see it as apples and oranges or maybe even apples and headphones.
And I don't think it's an exclusive arrangement either.. If you handed me a nice thick chocolate bomb ~2oz pump driven comfort food shot I'd be pretty freaking happy. It's not like I have grown to prefer the lever pulls exclusively it's more like I've come to understand there is another town over the hill and while things are very different in that town you can still live over there and find all the things you would need to fill a life they are just different from the exact stores and parks in the old town. The climate is very different... If I'd never come over the hill I'd have been happy in the 58mm town and if I went back I could still be happy, but in lever town there are a lot of new things to explore and while I thought I'd have to travel back and forth on weekends to get a fix in my old restaurants and so forth I realized at some point I could get everything I wanted and needed in lever town by just exploring around.
You can read all about clarity of shots and what not on HB but the short answer for me (too late right)
is that the PVL turned out to be a very good fit for me because it has an interesting way of delivering shots within parameters that are "right" and still allows you space to explore in a way that gives you years and years of experimentation. It does not leave me with a hole in my game that I previously thought I would need to always have two machines for.
And again if you get the large two group I'm sure that drinking thousands of great shots off it will not suck.