delta76
E61 machines takes 30 minutes or more so ECM @ 37 is pretty standard. If this is a real problem for some users, a smartplug will solve it.
Looking at photos and reading reviews I do not find any evidence of Lelit superiority in PID display; in fact several reviews mention it as too close to the drip tray which photo comparisons support. I’d prefer ECM here.
Not everyone cares about flow control, the La Marzocco Linea Micra is evidence enough. However, most ECM dealers now throw in the FC kit so customers don’t care, but as a features-escalation checklist item ECM might benefit from including it as standard. Reviewers have characterized Lelit FC controls as having high friction and too narrow a range of movement BTW.
Manual pre-infusion without being plumbed-in would be nice; is it essential?
ECM has 1400 watts vs Lelit 1200; ECM produces 2bar steam pressure vs Lelit 1.5bar.
ECM build quality is very good; notably it is extremely well-engineered for maintenance. If you haven’t seen them, you should watch videos of tear-down on both. It is clear ECM thought this through very well.
Lelit is a fine machine, however it is by no means more advanced than other leading E61 machines; it just has a different set of trade-offs.
When ECM does something new, I’ll hope it is actually new – much more in line with LMLM or Decent or other actually advanced machines, not just another band-aid on the E61.
I own a La Pavoni which frankly does most of what I need, so I have zero emotional ties to either ECM or Lelit and would purchase neither.
Peter J Walker, one of the few truly great thinkers in audio engineering, said “We don’t produce a new product every six months or even twelve months, no. Only two reasons for producing a new model: either you did it wrong the first time or there’s been a fundamental improvement in the science. Fundamental improvements in the science come very infrequently.”
Wise words ;-)
