I'm considering the alex duetto ii by izzo. Being that it's relatively new and not a whole lot of information for one several years old. I did run across Chris's post (bob_mcbob)


Izzo Duetto maintenance issues

Chris did you get these issues resolved? And is anyone else having any issues with this machine? $2300 is quite a sum of money for me, and maybe I need to look at a different machine.

Sorry if I got this in the wrong forum.

Best,
Lonny

Interested in what you find out. I just ordered one that will be here by Friday (from Chris' Coffee). It looks like they refined a lot of things with this second revision.

How long has the second revision even been available for? I was under the impression it got released late last year.

The design and being sold by Chris' Coffee were enough to sell me. I admit I'm a bit nervous spending so much on a machine that hasn't been around for 10+ years, but then I look at the GS/3, and by comparison the Duetto is cheap .

Lucky you. I still think it is the best bang for the buck in my case anyway. If I could get it plumbed in I would go with the elektra A3. However plumbing isn't possible. I'm very new to all this espresso business anyway. Can I ask, do you have to use a water softener on yours or actually any of these machines? I'll be using bottled water.... Spring water??

There is a ton of info available on the Duetto, searching the "Buying Advice" forum will bring up lots of comparisons to other machines, plus the standard DB vs HX threads. And searching the "Espresso Machines" forum will bring up lots of threads related to any problems people have had, it looks like mostly people trying to identify and fix the source of weird noises. Searching google will bring up quite a few reviews, a few videos of reviews/walkthroughs and a bunch of naked pours from all over the world (seems like a bunch of German ones).

As far as my own experience, ordering from Chris' Coffee was great, and the coffee's been delicious. The biggest issue (if you can even call it that) I've had is that there are little rubber bumpers under the drip tray to keep it from rattling, and one would fall off occasionally, so I taped them down with electrical tape. Other then that the machine has been a joy to use.

Is the A3 made anymore ? Still waiting for a reply from Ferrari's coffee on that model. On the softener issue if and when I get the A3 I will install a Brita filter on the water mains. Not sure if you get them in the U.S.

The very first models had issues with brew boiler gasket leaking. I haven't heard about that kind of problem in a long time, so it must be solved for good with a better gasket.

As far as I know, there are no other major Duetto specific issues.