LObin wrote: The compressa is likely the commercial lever machine with the least electronic components out there.

Only if you ignore the standard Bosco machines.

corichards wrote:Hi retireddude, I'm following a similar path of wanting to get a lever machine next (to follow from my first machine a BDB). I'm looking at a QM Achille as well as others, and have not ruled out the decent. I was interested in why you'd ruled out the QM Achille and if you'd pls share why that didn't make the latest round on your short list? Thanks in advance! [this is my first post so my apologies in advance if I haven't followed due protocol]

That's a good question. When I thought about choosing between lever machines it came down to three priorities: simplicity, silence, aesthetics. My understanding of the QM Achille is that it uses the rotary pump to refill the boiler, whether it is tank feed or plumbed. The Pro 800 has the advantage of bypassing the pump when plumbed in. So, both the 800 and the Londinium Compressa offered virtually silent boiler refills (just the click of a solenoid), that's the main reason I moved away from the QM.

The other, relatively inconsequential, negative to the Achille is that it doesn't seem to be talked about much. The Londinium has a vocal community of users, which I thought might be helpful in the future.

For a while, I also toyed with the idea of a Decent, which is odd since in some ways it's the opposite of the simple spring lever machine. I changed my mind when I noticed that a lot of Decent users seemed to settle into a lever-profile for pulling shots. I thought "why emulate a lever with all that complex technology? just get a lever machine." Also, I've seen discussion from Decent users that it doesn't produce shots with as much texture as a lever, even with a lever profile. Not sure if that's important to you, but perhaps something to consider.

Hope that helps.

Very helpful and timely food for thought - thank you!

JohnB. wrote:Only if you ignore the standard Bosco machines.

True! I should've written prosumer instead or commercial machine. In any case, Bosco internal is a simple perfection.
Thanks for setting me straight!

JohnB. wrote:Only if you ignore the standard Bosco machines.

Well maybe more accurate would be is the compressa is a non-Goliath sized commercial lever machine likely with the least electronic components out there

retireddude wrote:The other, relatively inconsequential, negative to the Achille is that it doesn't seem to be talked about much.

Read the old threads here and I think that you might understand why - but I know nothing of current Achille production.

For a traditional plumbed lever in a smaller-than-commercial-chassis, I'd suggest looking at the Izzo Alex Leva (LSM group) or Salvatore Compact Lever (Modern Lever or LSM group) or Lapera DS (Aurora-inspired group).