What Decent do you own and what's your experience been like? Quality? Functionality? Service? Do you still own one? Would you buy it again? Why? Here is my experience thus far. So I have just entered the world of Decent, having acquired a Decent DE1XL V1.42 from a current owner located in Vancouver. It's now sitting in my son's apartment awaiting my pick up in late August. I expect to be operational on August 30. The Decent team are just phenomenonal. Very helpful, very responsive, great service! Their approach to the sale and transfer of ownership of pre-owned units is rightfully very security conscious, but very supportive. They wisely understand that they are gaining new customers and fans. And, I can and will buy an extended warranty for piece of mind and convenience. It's worth every penny (well every $$). They will also sell me version upgrade parts at nominal cost. Assuming that I like the machine, which I am confident I will, Decent will have me hooked into their upgrade path. And an added benefit. As I was able to fund the purchase through prior / excess equipment sales, adding only $600 CDN (well$ 1,000 after I buy the extended warranty), my wife is now acclimated to this next price point in espresso machines 👌

I bought a DE1 Pro v1.43 in October, upgrading from a Gaggia Classic. The upgrade has been incredible in everyway. I get much better coffee from the DE1 and I love the control I can get from it. The integration with the Acaia scales is second to none, I couldn't imagine not using this feature, the ability to stop by weight is incredible. Being able to see the shot parameters mid flight is very useful. In terms of the actual machine, it's small compact and fairly light. I did have an issue in December where the group head ring light froze and I couldn't reset it. I spoke with Decent and I shipped the machine back to them and they repaired a board free of charge ( i didn't pay for shipping) Would I buy it again? - Yes. It's offerings are completely unique at the price point.

Congrats on the purchase @"JHCCoffee"#639 I've had my DE1XL for 2.5 years now. Hasn't missed a beat and comes with a life time extendable warranty. That speaks volumes about John Buckmans confidence in the durability of his machines. A swirl of espresso machines have come and gone around my Decent in those two and a half years.. It's simply extraordinary. For example, this morning I used a DF64V with Gorrilla Gear burrs which pairs well the "Adaptive" profile for medium roasted beans very well. Well balanced, full bodied, full flavored. Later I used a Niche Duo with SSP Espresso burrs and with just two taps on the tablet I switched to another solid match in Scott Rao's "Blooming" profile (designed for lighter roasts) and enjoyed all the bright juicy intenstity that those burrs can offer up. Adding to the easy-to-access diversity of options on the Decent, the Decent Diaspora has members such as John Weiss, the Barista Hustle guy, Scott Rao, John Buckman and a host of other vastly experienced and helpful professionals posting and contributing to anwers. It's really quite extraordinary. Almost as good as CT! People love or hate the Decent. They are like a black jellybean: people who like them tend to love them and the rest can't stand them. And that's just fine. Celebrate that diversity of opinions. Accept and applaud differences. The Decent is the mainstay of my coffee island... [URL=https://i.imgur.com/noTa2gn.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/noTa2gn.jpg[/IMG][/URL] PS my first shot of the day generally has me simply pushing the button through blurry eyes, just to get a quick caffiene fix. So it's not all about nerding out. The Decent can be as simple or as complex as you enjoy making it.

Thanks @"tompoland"#121. I appreciate your Decent insights. That's definitely a full bench! Just curious. What brand is the pour over kettle and base on the right side of the bench. I’d like something that is more temperature controlable than my current stovetop gooseneck kettle.

@"JHCCoffee"#p50221 yes Fellow Stagg with optional wood accents. Hario Server 01 with a Hario Switch on top. Acaia Pearl scale. The Stagg features a useful "hold" option that will keep the water at the set temperature for up to an hour.

I have the scales and the connection has died on one of the buttons. Despite it being a common occurrence they are not interested. Seems like they view the scales as a beta play thing that their customers who buy £4K machines can view as disposable and buy the next model they release. Won’t buy from them again.

> @"simonc"#p50391 have the scales and the connection has died on one of the buttons. Despite it being a common occurrence they are not interested. Seems like they view the scales as a beta play thing that their customers who buy £4K machines can view as disposable and buy the next model they release. > Won’t buy from them again. That’s unfortunate. They should stand behind everything that they sell. I’ve had pretty good service thus far. Who did you deal with?

@"simonc"#p50391 I’m sorry you’ve had that experience, that seems really weird. I’ve had several dealings with Decent and their support team, and they have been amazingly helpful every single time. I had an issue with one of the buttons on my v1 scale and they replaced the entire scale for free with the updated v1.2 model. It hasn’t missed a beat since. I’d definitely raise this with them again. I know John was away on a trip recently but should be back now. If it was me I’d go through the Decent support portal on their website or message him directly on Diaspora and I’m sure he’ll sort this for you.

I like that the machine heats up quickly, I just wonder how long it takes for the portafilter to heat too? There’s always the kettle to speed things a long but when spending £3k that seems a bit bonkers. I’d say by BDB takes 10 minutes from a cold start.

@"simonc"#p50391 Seems their entire approach is beta... granted some are fine with constant beta testing and 'possible' improvements, but when I buy an item I like it to be quite finished and tried/true for some time to come. Decent has approached trying to bring out the ultimate in every type of item coffee related, but IMBHO most items look like child's play, but to each their own. Seems every other month an updated version of their machine will be available... like oh it's 1.45111 in 2 weeks and there will be a slight price increase, blah blah blah. Personally don't care to have a featherweight espresso setup with that type of water reservoir among other oddities. More power to those constantly seeking, but rarely finding, satisfying cutting edge items that are never fully refined. I like something that will work every single time I need it to and do so indefinitely and have parts available infinitely.

Decent Experience and Poll

MediumRoastSteam

Cuprajake Point being you can buy a timemore over in the UK already.

Sorry I missed the point. I thought we were talking about the Decent and the fact they sell direct to customer only.

JHCCoffee

MediumRoastSteam Sorry I missed the point. I thought we were talking about the Decent and the fact they sell direct to customer only.

Actually the OP (me) was actually querying about who owns a Decent (and which one). Interesting segue through.

MediumRoastSteam

JHCCoffee Actually the OP (me) was actually querying about who owns a Decent (and which one)

Not me then. Actually my comment was related to the most recent posts, rather than the OP, as he thread took a slight digression.

Enjoy your day, over and out.

Cuprajake

Be better on the decent group for stuff like that, given there cost to the UK there are not loads here.

I’ve always fancied one, but the noise is not for me.

Decent have dropped the price some what though from looking

delta76

DavecUK interesting you put it that way. I have never gone that far to order a Decent, given how much it costs in the cart, but that’s … interesting.

If we speak frankly, they are trying to avoid VAT upfront to make the machine more appealing to buyers. I am certainly not a tax expert, but it feels shady to me…

DavecUK

delta76 If we speak frankly, they are trying to avoid VAT upfront to make the machine more appealing to buyers. I am certainly not a tax expert, but it feels shady to me…

No, decent are not avoiding VAT, the purchaser is doing that. Decent even state clearly you need to declare the software value in line with any applicable laws in your country.

It’s understandable you might feel as you do…

simonc

DavecUK I’ve bought a lot of software, via download, from overseas and the vendor has charged vat. It’s perfectly possibly for Decent to do so as they do for hardware.
Giving their customers the option to not pay given they know they are shipping to the UK ~~feels~~ is wrong.

delta76

I know you are wording carefully. But from my perspective they are “hacking” for their advantage. The proper way would be declare the whole value, or to let the customer buy the software and pay the VAT at the same time.

As I said I am no Tax expert, I am quite sure they have done their homework carefully to avoid any liability. Also I used the work “avoiding”, not “evasion” or “fraud”. Just think they are smart, but somewhat shady for doing so.

DavecUK

delta76 I do understand and in the end, we all pay for it, if we pay taxes. That uncollected VAT has to be made up somewhere.

james65477564

delta76 I think it is very shady.

If their claimed value was true you should be able to buy the machine for $500 and run different software which they already advertise as a feature.

You should then be able to ‘upgrade’ to their software and pay appropriate tax.

You cannot and this proves the true value (and therefore tax liability). They are exploiting a grey area in tax law and if it was more mainstream I am sure it would be closed.

I would happily buy a decent for $500 and run alternate software!

Redla

This thread has been derailed completely…

Cuprajake

theres not really many decent owners on here, so you wont get much in the way of feedback,

ive been tempted a few times by a decent but the poor milk performance and the vibe pumps really put me off, i also dont like the closed forum, but thats just me,

its a very clever machine,

james65477564

Cuprajake I would be the same, if I could buy from somewhere like BB I would probably already have one.

delta76

Cuprajake obviously not a decent owner but i heard a different story, it is capable of making great microfoam. Comparable to GS3 which is said to be barista dream.

Of course not first hand experience but I would say if the older versions were weak on steaming power they would have fixed it by now. They keep evolving, quickly. I have to give them that

Cuprajake

Maybe the newer ones do, I’ve not really looked too in-depth with them for a while.

I know there are a few cheaper used machines on decents site

JHCCoffee

@tompoland @JammyDodger

I’ve been PM chatting with a fellow named Windsleigher on Basecamp, who says:

Julian I own and have used both Sheldon’s Spacer Kit spacer and Sheldon’s Diffuser. The Diffuser left me with pucks that were not as dry, and worse, there was hot water retention left above the shower screen especially after flushes. When I wiped the screen after a flush, it would release the surface tension and the hot water would drop onto my hand,burning it. That was why I went back to the Spacer Kit Spacer. Driest pucks and virtually no hot water retention.

This experience was with the original brass group head parts. I found that the spacer was not a perfect fit when I installed the v2 PPS parts, so IMO it was not able to be used. After two months using the v2 PPS parts, I reinstalled the original brass and Sheldon’s Spacer Kit Spacer and regained the driest pucks and best taste, without having to increase the dose weight. The parameters of the profile were followed more consistently and more accurately.

Does the above make any sense to you?

JammyDodger

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!

tompoland

JHCCoffee funnily enough I had the opposite results using SworksDesign head space kit and diffuser. Drier pucks.

But Decent recently came out with their updated version and I upgraded to that. Can’t say they it is better than SworksDesign but it’s an improvement for sure over the previous Decent version.

I’ve seen the test logs on the newer Decent version and from memory the test ran over 500 times and several years so I decided not to try and second guess their efforts.

PS full respect for windsleighers opinions, he is an astute contributor. It’s just that in this case my experience was different, perhaps due to other variables.

Cuprajake

Presume he’s talking about headspace

I know the new version of the decent has been designed to give an e61 equivalent group space, perhaps that

Don’t forget though once you start long fine grind profile shots the pucks will be soggy messes, a puck screen will help

Jumping to the super flow baskets makes for dryer pucks but there a ball ache to remove,

Cuprajake

I watch most vids at 1.5 times speed,

Had some interesting points about back to back stability

JHCCoffee

tompoland funnily enough I had the opposite results using SworksDesign head space kit and diffuser. Drier pucks.

Thanks Tom. So I’m confused. The machine that is about to arrive at my home is a v1.42 with the Sworks Diffuser (but not a Sworks Headspace Kit); the Diffuser apparently has some extent of headspace reduction built in. Is that sufficient?

I just want sufficiently dry pucks with no channeling and even distribution. I was able to get that with my Lelit E, through WDT, a puck screen, the right size basement and dose, and program adjustments. I do not wish to go backwards, or have or create undue challenges in learning how to use the machine.

Do I have what I need? If not what should I get?

My gut feel is that what I have (the v1 grouphead and the Sworks diffuser) will do the job, and that I do not need to spend further $$$ on the Decent Grouphead upgrade kit or additional SworksDesign accessories. Am I missing something here? I’d buy one or both of these items if there is a true significant benefit.

Frankly I’d rather save for a Niche Duo or a Kaffelogic Roaster. But if there is a strong reason to buy these Decent parts, I will. LMK.

« Previous Page Next Page »