What espresso machine should i get to pair it with M4....nod budgetary contsraints.
I do need it to be reservoir based. Body and mouthfeel are important. I would use all kinda roasts - dark and light. If that means I need preinfusion- then yes, if that means i can get away with pre-brewing then yes. The way i see it:
Linea Mini - no preinfusion - not sure about how it will handle light roasts like Ethiopians. I also found changing the restrictor from .8mm to .6mm tedious. Maybe run a lower brew pressure. Regardless - if this machine deals great espressos im in.
Vesuvius - heard good things not sure about taste in cup.
GS3 - heard good things as well, dont know about reliability.
Decent - heard body and mouth feel were not up there.
Synesso Hydra - no reservoir
Speedster - no reservoir
ECM - ?
Profitec -?
Help needed. Pls Advise.

LR24 ticks everything, the only downside holding me back is the sweeter milk it produces

LR24 was always too hot for me. Not being able to control the temp was a real deal breaker...specially when it came to darker roasts

LR and LR24 have a thermosyphon restrictor to make the group run cooler for dark roasts. Did you give this a try before you sold it? Tough to beat a lever when it comes to texture and mouthfeel.

If you need a reservoir, I'd say the two "no cost object" machines to look at the are G3 MP and the Eagle One Prima.

Regarding putting in a restrictor in the R24 : I'm someone who has a couple of roasts on the go. Putting in a restrictor from a user experience POV aid kinda sucky. I'm doing so because I can't control the temp. I will say this tho- a far cheaper e61 had better mouthfeel on a dark roast compared to the R24.
Regards the Prima One - super cool. I started looking at that last night. Apparently nothings being shipped till end of May because of software fixes.
How would the Decent do in terms of texture ?

I just found about ACS Vostok 1 group, your thoughts please?

I was choosing between the Eagle One Prima or the Decent xl. Given the Prima wont be here till atleast end May i placed the order for the Decent.
Will report back with taste impressions

cell wrote:I was choosig between the Eagle One Prima or the Decent xl. Given the Prima wont be here till atleast end May i placed the order for the Decent.
Will report back with taste impressions

Please do! Especially how easy to turn it on make a shot and walk away without geeking out + how do you feel about the mouth feel and the wet pucks.

Mouth feel is super important. Wet pucks - dont care.