First thoughts as i have just set up my brand new duetto II.

It was packaged far better than expected. I opened the box and set it up as instructed- (removing cover and hooking up pressure gauge). I put the cover back on and filled the reservoir. Plugged it in and turned it on. Pump comes on and runs- and runs- and runs. Hmmm- looks like we have a problem. Long story short- brew switch set depth is to long on front of machine- which over compresses switch. Cover comes back off and attempt to re-adjust. Machine is packed inside- I use blue masking tape and cover around switch nut ( as not to scratch the front panel when I use a wrench to loosen the switch nut). I then back off the adjustment nut about 3 turns and tighten. Leaving cover off I turn machine back on and test. All brew tests good- time to let it warm up.

To fit and finish- My two cents- Fit and finish are ok- as in just ok. I have an obsessive / compulsive nature to things being perfect. With that, top warming tray doesn't quite fit right to the shape and curve of the machine cover. So I'm looking at it while waiting for it to warm up. I found that if you look down through the double cover, you will see 2 strips of foam tape (one on each side) used to insulate the 2 steel cover halves from rattling (as the tabs contact each other when assembled. If yours is like mine you will find that when they assembled the covers- the foam strips rolled up into a ball behind the outer covers. Thus causing the housings to not fit tight together but push them apart towards the back. In my case it changed the original formed shape of the outer covers. So I took the inner and outer cover apart and removed the foam. Then took vinyl electrical tape and made one wrap around each tab of the inner shell and assembled. Still fits tight and doesn't deform the shape of the outer housing. Top warming tray fits 100 percent better- not perfect but tolerable. (almost perfect).I also noticed front drip tray drawer (with the handle) was crooked. Loosening handle screws allowed me to straighten it up and re-tighten.

How well does it work ?

Going from a 15yo Pasquini Livia 90- It is a dream machine. Third grinder adjustment, I was pulling dream shots ( at least to me). Machine is whisper quiet. Foaming milk- Tons of steaming power- for those having trouble with foam- I have found putting the tip just below the milk causing the tip to half aerate and heat at same time. Then when you start to acquire foam- work the tip just equal to foam level and below. I started with half a pitcher of milk- Using this method I had micro foam flowing over the top of pitcher. Way too cool !

Issues to be addressed still-

While machine is working great and very nice looking- there are some machine bending marks on outer shell- almost look like scribe marks in the stainless. Looks as though when the metal was formed the plastic protective cover was scratched in the process of bending. Its nit picking- but new is new- it shouldn't be there. I contacted Chris's coffee. They want me to send them pic's and will address it after they get them. I will post with follow up when resolved.

Final thoughts-

For the money - and all things considered- was it worth it ? I don't think you can touch the features and over all design for the money. It does not heat up quite as fast as my old pasquini- but I'm not fighting huge temp swings and inconsistent shots either. This machine is pretty much a no brain er- which is what I was looking for. I want to enjoy my machine and brew -not have duelling sessions with it. If Alex could get the fit, finish and assembly quality up to speed they would have a dead ringer----While I did spend a day refitting and re-adjusting--- I think I made a right choice.

cannonfodder wrote:Lowering the temperature will not do anything but give you anemic steam. If the steam is damp you can lower the water level in the boiler by pushing the level probe in just a little more. Lowering the water level will give you more steam volume but at lower pressure, raising the water level will give you less steam but at higher pressure (and moister). Scalding milk and water from the steam wand are not related. One is a function of condensation, the other a function of high powered steam or bad milk.

I'm only mildly mechanically inclined, with few tools, living in my small apartment. What your describing doesn't sound too difficult if I had a diagram of the various things that need tweaking, but I'm hesitant to do it blindly. I'll give a call to Chris' Coffees tech support folks when I get a day off and can fiddle with it. Thanks for the imput guys!

I was planning to call Chris Coffee this morning to place an order for the July shipment, but there seem to be a lot of fit n finish concerns with this last batch people received. Was it just a bad batch or is this consistent with the previous batches of Duettos to go out the door. It's almost got me thinking I should reconsider the S1V2 or Mini. The Duetto is just so much more flexible with the tank/plumb switch.

Honestly I'm a bit OCD about fit and finish. However if I had to do it again I would order just like I did. They are very minor things, things that bug me but aren't dealbreakers in my opinion.

I considered the S1V2 or the mini myself but features to features and the stainless won me over. I do not regret my decision.

I think the general conscensus is that for a machine that is an incredible piece of equipment with features galore, it's fit and finish could be better. However again it's not a deal breaker.

Hey Guys...Are these the Duettos that have the new knobs and alarm?
Just making sure my supplier has the new ones.

The units that Chris's Coffee sells do have the new larger knobs ( same as Andreja Premium) and low reservoir alarm on/ off switch.

I'm off tomorrow, I might post some close up shots of the lid. There are no obvious flaws regarding fit on my unit.

Well I got the new shell and honestly it doesn't fit any better. I tried the electrical tape trick and that didn't seem to do much better. My biggest fear isn't that it doesn't fit the best, it's that the constant removal of the cup warmer will continue to scratch the inside.

Its too bad about the fit and finish....a more assessable water tank would have been nice as well.
This has me rethinking my potential purchase. Towards the Rocket more so now.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I just wanted to snap a few quick shots. On the right side of the machine, seen here, towards the middle of the section of the outer shell and where the lid meets, you can see a slight tapering of the gap.



On the left side of the machine, the gap is consistent. I could "nudge" the lid over to the left a bit to even it out a tad, but this was the way to show the difference the clearest. And as far as I'm concerned, it's not even a flaw or design failure. I don't want the lid to be any harder to remove or have it catch on the side walls as I try to lift it.


My greater grievance is needing separate tools just to remove the outer cover, like someone else mentioned before... Not too easy or user friendly. And, I wish the steam knob felt smooth as it turned, not hearing and feeling the friction/"grinding" of a spring as it turns.

I'd honestly have to go home and look at my Duetto II to see if it had any of these "fit and finish issues." Getting the new machine and getting my shots dialed in was a little overwhelming/exciting at first, and I probably just skipped the step where I checked all the parts to make sure they had consistent panel gaps. However, I haven't had any problems with my day to day use, and the shots have at least tasted consistently good - although some of the pours haven't looked as pretty as the could, I'll add that to my lisst of things to work on.