russel wrote:I've spent a decent amount of time hanging out at his shop (when it was in Solvang).

I drove right past his new Buellton strip mall shop in November and didn't notice he'd moved up the same road from Solvang. Wonder if the workshop is there, too (expensive space for a workshop).

wsfarrell wrote:I had a compact spring lever and loved it; sold it as I'm in a downsizing mode at the moment.

He has his quirks: his current special offer is "order 3 machines, get a fourth free." Not sure exactly to whom that's aimed.

Would be great for a group buy! 25% off for everyone involved.

I feel like the machines that he refurbishes are often a great deal. They had just posted a relatively young one on the bay with volumetrics for $1200...I don't think it sold but that's a good value, good enough to make me look twice.

The $1,200 machine currently on eBay is from a private party. Salvatore's refurbished machine is up for $1,675. Still not a bad deal, though you have to pick it up in person.

russel wrote:Not to be overly glib, but yes, concerns over the size of your portafilter have little to do with the quality of the coffee that ends up in the cup

That I understand - in this case, it's quantity rather than quality that concerns me. But with that triple from Chris', I could continue with the same size and proportions I now use for macs and caps. That's the major reason I haven't looked more closely at a Vivaldi - so now I will. JohnB, what was it about the Vivaldi PF / basket combo that you didn't like?

I had an S1 V1 that had been upgraded With a lot of of the V2 spec. It stood in for my GS3 when I had to replace the brain board and relays. Head to head I'd say that the LM easily won out with my preferred longer shot style...but given the $4000 price differential, I was very impressed with the La Spaz. My wife prefers espresso from the manual levers, and she liked the Vivaldi more. When thinking in terms of the performance of similarly priced machines, I think its a quality/money champ...for now.

russel wrote: Given that I can't get exactly what I want in an e61 right now, my personal preference for consumer/prosumer machines would be a Vivaldi, a Cremina, and a La Pavoni (1st gen or Millenium). In reality, I'm waiting for the DE1PRO+ Commercial whatever they name it.

Thanks for all the info. That's a big jump from a Cremina to a DE1PRO. I was interested in the DE1 but it's a lot of electronics and technology to me. I would like a Cremina also but trying to find one hasn't been easy, unless I want to buy a new one ( way expensive) or buy a nice refurbished one ( still expensive) so I'm not really sure what I will do.

I've had a Salvatore semi automatic for over 15 years and LOVE it. After some practice with the amount of espresso and tamping I was able to get a rich crema. It's a true workhorse..or was until I had to replace a part. Wendy is terrific in customer service, she sent me the correct part to replace and cautioned me not to over tighten, I over tightened and can't blame Wendy for that, she warned me. I"m hoping they will offer an exchange upgrade program and if so I'm in for a new one. My brother originally gifted this to me, he has two himself and they are both going strong after 17 years of use. Sorry, I don't know the model # or type other than semi automatic, I've had mine plumbed which is a time saver, but it was set up for either pour or plumb (nice option).