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My Magnifica bean-to-cup is packing up (solenoid I suspect). I live in a hard water area and these machines seem to last me about 3 years. Thinking of just putting filtered water through the next one. Anyway, despite not wanting to blow a fortune might stretch to a Sage Express if I can be convinced they are measurably better than the Magnifica and not just a nicer design. Anyone had experience of both? Any other machines I should consider?
I haven't used the Magnifica but I use my Sage Express daily and it's excellent. I love the pressure gauge which is genuinely useful - can dial a new bean in to perfection within one or two shots. Without the gauge I'm not sure how you'd do that. (And I'm not sure how it would be done automatically, so I'd forever be wondering if I was getting the best extraction from my beans.)
Don't just create more landfill. Delonghi will service your machine and replace any components necessary. It will come back looking like new - ours was ~£90.
Best to service it and try and descale it once in a while in future. If you're used to a bean to cup then the Sage is likely to feel like hard work
Yep, sound advice, may well give them a ring. How long did it take?
Watched a YT on the Sage and it does look like a faff and I'd be forever sweeping up coffee.
You can dial in beans easy with magnifica. A bit of trial and error granted but it’s easy enough. If you’re happy with the coffee from a magnifica then stick with that if you can get it fixed cheap enough. Even if you can get better results with a sage if you never know it doesn’t matter! But depends how much of a coffee hobbyist you are. If you love coffee and it’s a passion then go sage. If you just want a half decent coffee then save your money and spend it on better beans.
You can dial in beans easy with magnifica.
Not really. I have one ... You have adjustment in grind. Nothing else.
But I get up in the am. Press a button go to toilet come back and have coffee..... It's worth itnot being perfect.
trail_rat
Not really. I have one … You have adjustment in grind. Nothing else.
But I get up in the am. Press a button go to toilet come back and have coffee….. It’s worth itnot being perfect.
I'm not sure on the exact definition of "dial in" here but I have a magnifica S and you can also adjust what they call the "taste selection" (actually the amount of coffee), and also the temperature.
what they call the “taste selection” (actually the amount of coffee), and also the temperature.
Oh yes I forgot....you can select some parameters on arbitrary 1-5 scales -most of which are unsuitable for use. The temperature for example varies between cool and scald over 5 settings.
Vs gauges and infinately adjustable settings on the sage.
Different strokes for different folks but let's not pretend you can "dial" in on the magnifica but it does deliver quick drinkable coffee.
I have both a Magnifica and a Sage Barista Pro on my worktop at the moment so I think can comment.
The Sage is makes a far better espresso hence the Magnifica will be on eBay / marketplace shortly.
The Sage is quite a lot more hassle to use though - grinding, tamping, flushing etc - it’s not the convenient time be touch for a coffee like the Magnifica.
I can't edit my last post to correct a typo for some reason - I meant to say "It's not the convenient one touch for a coffee like the Magnifica".
(I like that lack of convenience though - it's too easy to drink too much coffee when it's just one button to produce a drink. If you're pushed for time then the Delonghi would seem rather more appealing and the coffee is still pretty good).
Well, I've descaled it (again), inverted it, hoovered it, set the grind, flushed the infuser (and hoovered there), phoned the repairs number above and they switched me off after 10 minutes of ringing, local 'coffee machine repairs' man doesn't do deLonghi. I think Magnifica S might be the only answer since all of their machines produce the same sort of coffee so why spend more when it's going to blow up in 3 years and at that price range there doesn't seem much competition.
To counter the 'ease of use' comments, I pulled a cold shot over ice this morning as my manual lever allows me to do what I want with it and I can easily adjust my grinder to give me a finer grind for the cold pull.
I enjoy there being a process/ritual/workflow to a cup, but it does take some time to get one made 🙂
What's the issue with your magnifica bill ?
To counter the above I had an issue with the magnicifa and I sent it off for repair. They fixed the broken bits but not the cause.
So my infuser would not expell the puck between shots after the arm had been broke ...the cause was the infuser pivots had swollen and this made the infuser so stiff that as it ran down the gearbox it would just snap off the arm.
They replaced the arm but didn't fix the infuser so it snapped off again 6months later
So now I know more than I ever wanted to know about the magnifica s as I refused to pay them more money to do a half assed repair. The arm that needs replacing involves a full strip down of the machine. It hasn't happened again.
Machine now ordered. Thanks for all the comments, my life will be restored on Thursday.
trail_rat
Oh yes I forgot….you can select some parameters on arbitrary 1-5 scales -most of which are unsuitable for use. The temperature for example varies between cool and scald over 5 settings.
Vs gauges and infinately adjustable settings on the sage.
Different strokes for different folks but let’s not pretend you can “dial” in on the magnifica but it does deliver quick drinkable coffee.
🤷♂️ I'm not pretending anything or saying it's as adjustable as a Sage setup, I just said that there are adjustments you can make.
No need to be an arse about it.