# Closing in on my first setup



## Katfud (Sep 27, 2020)

Hi all, you've been very helpful in educating me to date and I expect to dive in soon.

Having researched I was hoping you could provide a second opinion on my conclusions and whether they best meet my needs (more to that in a minute).

The top dogs are: a Lelit MaraX and a Eureka Mignon Specialita 16 cr grinder.

Now for a little about what I was looking for. I drink mainly Americano's and Cortados, the missus enjoys a cappuccino.

I doubt I'll have Much call for more than three cups a day and only very occasionally will I need to make more than four cups in a single sitting.

I don't plan to plumb a machine in, so a reservoir is a must and ideally I'd like it to last, so quality is important to me. (I'm trying to future proof against a need to upgrade, though from what I read here, that's a tougher battle.)

Family members seen to be wedded to the Sage machines, and they seem to have good reviews, but I just don't 'feel' them, though that seems a poor justification!

The machine grinder combo is at the top of (technically over) my budget. But I plan to lie to myself and make up the spare cash through saving on coffee shops (which I will still inevitably visit).

Can you let me know your thoughts on whether you think my choice seems reasonable, or have a made a poor/mismatched choice Vs my needs? Are Lelit a reputable brand?

Thanks in advance for the help, interested to hear views!


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## allyburns (Sep 27, 2020)

One thing that's really been bothering me is the EU legislation that means the new machines have auto shut off and a power toggle button (rather than an old fashioned hard on-off switch), so they can't be controlled on and off with a smart plug. As the warmup times can be 30 minutes or more, and my coffee drinking follows a fairly fixed morning schedule, I want the machine warmed up and ready by a certain time.

The machines can be modded to get around this, but will likely void the warranty (unless you can carefully restore the original setup)

From what I've seen, the Lelit MaraX* won't* have this problem. You can also disable the auto-shutoff on it.

This is a big consideration for me, my head is flitting between Gaggia and Silvia but the need to mod this particular feature annoys me, as it means the machine coming with some electronics that will be disabled (I saw a smart relay switch solution for the Silvia that keeps its functionality as-is, but means when the power goes from off to on at the wall (smartplug) it triggers a "press" on the power button, therefore turning it on)

It's even made me look at the Sage Bambino with its quick warmup, event though, like you, I don't consider them "proper".

Just wanted to highlight this issue, as it's a major consideration for me on my search.


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## Katfud (Sep 27, 2020)

Thanks, I hadn't appreciated that problem, but it would make a massive difference over time!


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## fraserrl (Oct 18, 2020)

Saw your other post - MaraX and Eureka Mignon Specialita in the end?


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