The bypass thing is real. It doesn’t matter all that much but it makes a difference. That’s why most geeks will also tell you to pour on the grounds, never on the paper.
You should check out the tricolate brewer. Full-immersion, but designed to have no bypass. And it makes surprisingly good coffee. I was dubious at first, but it is kind of neat.
I have an older commandate, which is pretty fantastic and an Ode 2 for when I’m lazy or want to brew bigger batches. Also great.
At some point I have also owned a hario skerton, which was shit, a baratza encore and later on a baratza virtuoso, which were both decent. Then I had a Mahlkonig Vario W (in the us that’s also baratza, I think), which was really good, but a bit of a bitch maintenance-wise. That was also the only one that died on me. Except the skerton, but that one never really lived in the first place.