bean2friends wrote:You can do that. Press once to start and press a second time to stop.

What if you want to go beyond the preprogrammed volume though? Eg pull a lungo?

I have one button programmed for a very short time, just a few seconds. I use that for rinsing the shower head after a shot.
You could also leave one unprogrammed so that you turn it on for a shot and off when you want the shot to end.
actually, I have my double shot button programmed for close to a minute. So, I stop it when I want to stop it.
You have plenty of flexibility with the programming.

Woo. All this insight has been incredibly helpful. As my process has evolved, I am now finding myself strongly considering either the La Spaziale Dream or the ECM Synchronika (seemingly the Pro 700 on steroids:) )

The Synchronika is in the lead because of the 58mm swap over from my current Quickmill Andreja, the fancy joysticks, which is a fun looking perk (I am admittedly getting distracted by bling), and the large capacity for steam power. Here's the remaining question, then: I am torn about not purchasing from Chris Coffee (since they don't carry ECM). I spoke with a wonderful rep at Clive coffee about the ECM, and I realize that Whole Latte Love also carries the product line. Clive is in Portland (I'm in Chicago) and so shipping to them, in the event of future needed repairs, would be ~$90 each way. WLL, in Jersey, would be around $45. That's a decent difference. It seems like WLL puts a lot of effort into providing wonderful media and info those looking to buy, but when I tried to read up on WLL's reputation for customer/technical service, that brought up some spotty history. That may be completely outdated, and I don't want to promulgate a negative impression on their reputation if it is not accurate to who they are now. Does anyone have any perspectives to offer on Customer service, either at WLL or Clive? Again, having dealt with Chris Coffee in the past, I can only imagine they set the upper level of standard. Do the other companies keep pace? Is this in any way an inappropriate question to ask in this thread, or in this particular forum?

While I like the ECM a lot, if it can't be technically supported without a headache, that may be a strong negative.

Thanks again for any info, and I've really enjoyed reading all the posts here so far.
-A

Just to bring the conversation to a completion:

1) Thank you, so much, to each person who contributed their informed opinions and helpful information.

2) Yesterday I ordered the ECM Synchronika from WLL. While I was a bit torn, given the real loyalty I feel towards Chris Coffee cultivated over years of tremendous support, they didn't carry this line of machines, and so I went with the machine rather than the distributor. That being said, there is a lot of respect paid to WLL on this site, so I was confident that I would still be supporting a quality organization, and the gentleman in sales (Mark) clearly knew his stuff, and that was reassuring. Earlier, I had spoken with other WLL sales people where that wasn't as much the impression with which I was left, and had me feeling a little less confident. Glad I spoke with the organization several times to broaden my sample size.

I had narrowed it down to the Duetto IV (great points made by BaristaBoy) and the ECM. While the Dream was in the early running, I opted for sticking with the 58mm and the E61. Additionally, the manual for the Duetto seemed to indicate that you could achieve 1.5 bar for the steam, max, while ECM would get it up to 2.0 bar. When I spoke with my trusted local cafe, they told me they operate at probably 1.5 max themselves, so I may have been perfectly fine with the Duetto....but I just didn't want to risk regretting the lack of ooomph, given that we are primarily latte drinkers here. I likely overthought this....it is a super power of mine!

All the above is to explain the evaluation influences, in case someone in the future reads this thread in their own search, and the info is helpful. The ECM now had the Flow Control upgrade for a reduced price when buying the machine (rather than as a later add-on), so I added that onto the machine although that can of worms of exploration is likely down the road for me. Side note, it seems the new knob/lever for that add-on should be in stock at WLL (that seemed to be a hot question in other threads).

Again, my appreciation to you for the questions posed in this thread as well as others. All the best,
-Adam

Phaedrus wrote:At the risk of sending this thread OT - I can't find anywhere in the manual if the mini Vivaldi can be used as a semi automatic. Eg. Press the button to start coffee delivery and then press (or let go) to stop. All I can find is the use of the volumetric single and double shot buttons.

This what i do for every shot. Weighed and timed. push button to start, push button to stop.