For a couple of years now I've been using an Elektra basket on my 2009 Cremina, as many do. The Elektra holds up to around 17g, while the stock one maxes out under 15g and usually less.

Recently I've been comparing the Elektra with the stock basket using several coffees, from bright to dark roasts. After a couple of weeks it seems pretty clear that I'm getting tastier and more consistent extractions (both appearance on bottomless PF and faste) from the stock basket. The resulting drinks are even smaller (my one complaint with the Cremina), but better.

I kept the brew ratios constant when switching baskets, weighing in and pulling to weight, adjusting grind as needed. I use WDT and a group head thermometer so I think my technique is as consistent as is practical. The Elektra basket needed a roughly similar grind if it was loaded with a little under 2g more coffee than the stock basket. Using roughly similar grind, less coffee, and an accurately matched brew ratio the Cremina basket seemed better in most trials. Of course this isn't blind testing, but the differences seemed pretty clear to me. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the Elektra basket on an Elektra machine, just that when it's loaded up on a Cremina, which has a lot of headspace, it doesn't seem to work as well in my experience.

Has anyone else tried this? Caveat: it's easy to mask the results if you don't use a precise technique because the Cremina, especially without a thermometer, is very adjustable in use. Very forgiving, but not necessarily very consistent.