JHCCoffee
Hiya JHC, Jake is right, Windslayer is talking about headspace. He is saying that he prefers the coffee the DE1 produces with a little less headspace than the DE1 gives with the current group head parts, and so has added Sheldon’s spacer in order to reduce the headspace further.
The DE1 has always prioritised clarity of flavour over body, and so has historically had a larger headspace than a ‘typical’ E61 machine. John has stated in the past this is because it is much easier to reduce headspace than add it, for example by adding a puck screen, or updosing. What Windslayer also mentions is that he is able to get dry pucks and the flavour he enjoys by using Sheldon’s spacer without having to increase the dose. I’m inferring from this that he can get an equivalent rate in the cup by updosing, but has gone for the spacer for convenience. He states that he uses the brass parts as he is a unable to get a good seal between Sheldon’s spacer and the new PPS grouphead, otherwise I would imagine he would be using the new grouphead parts.
An easy way to experiment with reduced headspace is to simply increase the dose from 18g to say 20g in the stock 18g basket. Alternatively you can stick with your current dose and go down a basket size to 15g. You could add a puck screen instead if you like. Have a play and see what works for you. It’s very dependent on the type of coffee you enjoy. One of the things I like about the Decent is you can tweak and optimise it for whatever type of roast level you feel like using at the time.
Give me a shout if you get stuck!