You could say they are medium range units (especially since the models usually recommended are not the very lowest end models of those brands), but the gap betw

You could say they are medium range units (especially since the models usually recommended are not the very lowest end models of those brands), but the gap between a cheapo from the hardware store and a Hakko is like 10x bigger than the gap from Hakko to the highest end model for a professional PCB assembler. Incidentally I work in aerospace and I rarely see anything in lab besides Hakko 800 series, 900 series, or 200 series (rework station).