Silvia

Rancilio Silvia. Would not recommend. Finicky as stock, either need to faff around with temp surfing or go extra $200 for PID and whatnot. Steam wand o-ring gave up within a year, became rusty on the "stainless steel" base in 5 years despite me doing all the maintenance described in the manual. Ther

If getting a portafilter, keep in mind the Silvia does not have a standard E61 group head. Specific Silvia PFs fit only. Made that mistake. Got the Rancilio bottomless one in the end because the other Rancilio didn't fit (that was for E61, the lips are bigger and hence won't fit). You need at the mi

I'd check if the Gaggia has aluminium boiler or the teflon coated version, if you don't know about, check the boiler gate issue. If it's aluminium, I'd choose a Gaggia. I have both by the way. This Rancilio Silvia is a V1, probably around 20 years old. If not refurbished, it has the boiler with heat

I bought a Synchronika about three months ago, and went to a La Marzocco open house over the weekend, so I've got a fairly fresh opinion. I got to play with the linea Micra, mini and a gs3. The Micra is small in person. Much smaller than I expected. If you have a small kitchen, maybe that's an advan

I got my V4 second hand just two weeks ago and I’m after descaling, changing the group head rubber ring and also thinking about PID because I don’t like the coffee temperature… Thinking about getting this one I just found this on AliExpress: | XMT-7100 PID Kits for Rancilio Silvia Gaggia Classic Tem

I upgraded from Rancilio Silvia to a Quick Mill Vetrano double boiler and I’ve never looked back. 20 years and it’s the best purchase I’ve ever made . .

Breville machines are actually very good. They are among the most temp stable thermoblock/jet machines made. Thanks to the thermojet you can have you milk steamed and drink ready while you're still waiting on a Rancilio Silvia to reach steaming pressure. The dual boiler comparisons are even worse. Y