Yes quite different to all of those and others. Two spring strengths, or direct, 58mm basket, optional pressure gauge, optional app for mapping profiles of each pull and more.

Beverast and for Aussies it works out at around AU$1,500 (including US$220 for shipping - ouch) so expect around $120 to be added by Australian customs.

    Watching closely but going slightly cold on the idea since it exploded into everyone’s consciousness earlier this year. Definitely a ‘watch and wait’ scenario for me. But if he pulls it off at that price, it’s a cool piece of kit for sure.

    It’s hard enough for an established manufacturer, to bring a new product to market, super difficult for newcomers. One of the reasons the Vesuvius Evo development and design, took the approach it did.

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    Bringing any new project to market is a challenge more so if it’s pushing boundaries design and spec-wise. If the team behind this pull it off, the world of lever espresso machines will be the better for it.

    I agree with you both.
    One of the main reasons I have backed this machine(well I ordered one that’s all) is because it is the first modern attempt at a small lever I have seen and the incumbents don’t seem to have made any attempt at all for over twenty years.
    Around 2000 I bought a Gaggia Classic.
    The only realistic prosumer competition then was the Silvia.
    That market segment is now huge with a hell of a lot of innovation.
    I’m happy to invest in the possibility of a grounbreaking small lever.
    Who knows, the first gen might be the best and how good will it be if it kicks off a design war. :)

    I always like products the push the boundaries, move things foward and encourage everyone to improve. Products that simply lag behind, and are released to make money out of a much older existing market, are much less fun. Innovation has given us a huge choice of better machines and grinders, compared to 20 years ago.

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    @Amberale and other Argos pre-orderers:

    Ross posted on Discord today today to say portafilter handles are due March 31. He plans to have all units boxed and ready to ship at that time, needing only to insert the portafilters as they arrive. He says that the Argos is still on track to ship in April.

    He is posting a video tomorrow on converting the Argos from spring to direct.

      tompoland He says that the Argos is still on track to ship in April.

      I think if he meets that date, it will be excellent news, not easy to make a new product for a small concern.

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        Beverast

        So not a change you’d make on the fly, to test out some theory on how to get even better taste out of the coffee at hand, but definitely doable to play around for a few days. Very very cool!

            Enea_ To be honest I am lazy and would probably just buy the separate piston assembly without the spring.

              It’s pretty darned cool. In addition to using it as a direct and 9 bar spring lever, there is an additional option to use a 6 bar spring. I’m quite sure that for most of us, we would only change it once or twice. But still very cool.

              Given the price profile on this I would not be surprised to see people with a couple of these side by side set as a spring and a direct lever.

              Much the same as folks will have an LP and an Electra on the same bench and for the same or less expenditure.

              That’s what I was thinking @Amberale - in fact, I would like to see three of these lined up next to each other on your coffee island please: 9 bar spring, 6 bar spring, direct.

              For about the same price all up as your lovely Strietman.

              I fugure that even if the V1 has some flaws it should be upgradable and for the couple of shots a day that I want I am comfortable that it will at least match the small footprint competition.

              I am really, really itching to get to play with one.

              True true.

              It would be interested to compare the shots from that 58mm basket of the Argos to the 49mm basket of the Streitman. Most likely not better, but surely quite different.

                Great question Dave.
                With the disparate basket/piston sizes they are very different beasts.
                I have neither the experience nor the cohones to predict how they will compare.
                The smaller diameter groups sound like they are more forgiving but also less likely to deliver a double Ristretto.