cafeIKE wrote:If you can't take the heat, put the wench back in the kitchen. Barefoot

1- I said that I was a newbie "to YOU guys". I have probably been making espresso before you even knew what it was. If anybody wants to call me barefoot he'll have to caffeine me to death.
2- If this is what you call heat. You have not lived in a greek family...
3- You got it all wrong! I want my better half (she might be watching) to stay out of the kitchen! I am trying to keep control of my espresso, slowly-but-surely-built, shrine.

BTW, Ian, you may call me any name in the coffee book, put please answer the last question i asked you. Less you are afraid of the real talk, greenhorn.

Back to the original question. As I said, the hybrid Chris sells and the full on Max are identical grinders except for the hopper and a few minor cosmetic things. Noise is a relative issue. I have not tested grinder DB levels with a meter and until you do that you really cannot declare one louder than the other. It may be more an issue of tonal difference with one grinder having a higher pitch than another. No matter what grinder you get, they are all noisy but if the grinder is in the kitchen, the family in another room, the noise is minimal.

The CMH was 76db. The MC4 is 69db. The CMH is 5 x as loud as MC4 / Mini class grinder. [A 3db increase is SPL is twice as loud.] Suffice to say the CMH has a MUCH more objectionable frequency spectrum because the body acts as a resonator while a Macap / Mazzer style body acts as a dampener. I've never measured the MXK, but guess it's about half-way between.

For loudness relative to VERY quiet vibe pump Vibiemme espresso machine see http://www.home-barista.com/post74002.html

It's been many months since it left, but there's no doubt the CMH was a better tasting grinder than the MC4, no better than the MXK. Had it been sonically less annoying, it would be still here. For a tiny bit of perspective, I was a pop recording engineer, had a business manufacturing studio sound equipment and the missus says I play Home Theatre and HiFi too loud.

this greenhorn is into his 5th espresso decade

cafeIKE wrote:this greenhorn is into his 5th espresso decade

I know that you have been around the ol'espresso drinking hole. I was just teasing... You started it... I have nothing but respect for you guys. I have been making espresso "on my own" for about 18 years now. With increasing quality results and increasing quality of equipment. Until recently I have been relying on hearsay and salesperson advices. I was doing alot of leg work to try to get a balanced set of information, or so I thought. I recently (about 6 months ago) discovered the online espresso community and started to read on many different topics. The quality of my shots has improved more in the last 6 months than it did in the previous 18 years or so. So, I cannot give you all enough praises for helping me by sharing your experience and knowledge. That being said; it will not shield you from my "newbie-uninformed-naive-juvenile-and-overall-very-silly comments and opinions.

Back to the gist of it... 76db is border line unacceptable to me! It is louder than the average vacuum cleaner!!

I agree with you on the resonator issue (sheet metal will do that) and thereof it may be the salvation. An insulation soft foam layer on the outer shell could do it by absorbing noise and providing damping of the metal. What do you think?

For those of you that opened the Max, is there room (say 1/4 inch) around the perimeter of the outer shell?

Before you consider insulating a grinder, do some research on grinders overheating. I know it's an issue in high-volume establishments (hence the addition of fans to commercial titan grinders). Maybe for home use you could get away with some sound dampening material as long as you leave some space for airflow.

Point well taken.

I had thought of it and if required can add a fan. But as you point it out, in my home, I grind per shot and the dwell time between operation is sufficient, I think, for cooling the motor. Of course I would monitor the temperature of the burrs to prevent overheating.

Whale wrote: An insulation soft foam layer on the outer shell could do it by absorbing noise and providing damping of the metal. What do you think?

For those of you that opened the Max, is there room (say 1/4 inch) around the perimeter of the outer shell?

There's not a lot of free space. At one point I did consider quietening, but judged disassembly of the shell more of a pain than I was interested in performing for improvement.

I had a Max, though not the newer ones sold by Chris. I went from a Super Jolly to a Max, and although the grind was better, there was a noticeable increase in noise.

My machine is in a open plan apartment, so the grinding from the Max was loud enough to annoy people watching tv. I did think about sound dampening, though was not concerned about the added heat from it due to only really grinding per shot. In the end, I sold the Max and purchased a Kony-E which has been a lot quieter and hardly noticeable to others. I still grind per shot, though there is an inbuilt fan that kicks in to cool things down.

The Max is a nice grinder, though on the whole, I personally prefer the build of the Mazzers as well as the form factor.

Yann

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have been considering the Kony electronic, for the grind taste description I read about, the practicality of the e-dosing, Mazzer reputation and wide availability.

Judge me as you may, I like the look of the Max A LOT more. I like so much more that I am currently going through hoops to purchase it new in Canada. My original opportunity didn't work out. But I fell in love. I like the volvo-like-squarish-utilitarian-brush-stainless look.

The comments about the noise level are starting to concern me. As I add written before, the noise is an important factor for me.

If my endavor toward the La CImbali Max fall through I will possibly to the Kony-E. In black with the chrome distributor and collar, it does look good. But man, there is a whole lotta money involved!

If the size is not a factor, you could get an original Max, which is much quieter than the hybrid, and in my view, more pleasant to use. As regards the grind quality, however, there is no difference that I can detect.

ken