Midrange Espresso Machines

The $1000-2000 price range of semiautomatic espresso machines is full of options. Some are as good as it gets in terms of features until you get up to double their price; others are technological relics that cost way too much money.

Most machines in this price bracket are either Heat Exchangers or Dual Boilers. Heat Exchangers use one large steam boiler, with a separate pipe for heating brew water running through it, so steam pressure and brew water temperature are linked. Dual boilers have separate brew and steam boilers, so the temperatures are separately controlled.

Before I go in depth, the short list for pump machines below $2000 is:

  • Rancilio Silvia Pro X (great build quality, very solid brewing and steaming performance)
  • Quick Mill Silvano Evo (solid build, and by far the lowest price for two separate water paths)

Breville Dual Boiler ($1600 US)

In Short: This is the stripped down, more manual version of Breville’s flagship Oracle automatic machine. It’s probably the best machine in this range in terms of temperature stability and user interface - if you can deal with its large size, mediocre build, and questionable aesthetics.

The Good:

  • Temperature stability is excellent because of PID controlled boilers and PID controlled group head heater.
  • UI is very good and easy to use.
  • Quick heatup time (around 10 minutes from cold to ready on 120V).
  • The pressure gauge reads from near the group, and is pretty accurate to actual in-group conditions.
  • Programmable preinfusion
  • Common to find used for well under new price - not uncommon to find them between $750-1000 US.
  • 58mm baskets, so accessories are easy to find.
  • Stock baskets are good quality.
  • Huge modding community for things like flow control, noise reduction, and so on.
  • Steam wand is very easy to use and the steam is very dry.

The Not So Good:

  • Relatively slow steaming because of limited steam outflow from small holes in the tip (3x 0.7mm), however it is very easy to use steam.
  • Steam wand is not no-burn.
  • Quite large (roughly 15-16” in all dimensions), which can make it awkward for smaller spaces.
  • Steam subsystem uses silicone O-rings which need to be checked for leaks about every 6 months - ideally, replace these with AFLAS which is more steam resistant.
  • Pretty loud.
  • Somewhat annoying to do more in depth maintenance because of its internal layout.
  • The 3-way solenoid valve is not the greatest quality part and can fail prematurely. Luckily, it’s an easy part to swap, and uses a standard base.
  • Brew pressure is often set too high from factory, usually 10-11 bars.
  • Looks are… polarizing.
  • Portafilters are not a common size.
  • Parts are hard to come by, even consumables like group heat collar inserts.

Rancilio Silvia Pro X ($1940 US)

In Short: My personal choice for this price range. Built like a tank and easy to work on with very strong steaming performance and great flat profile shots.

The Good:

  • Both boilers are PID controlled, so tempurature stability is very good.
  • Progammable soft (no pump) preinfusion. This sort of replicates the E61-style “feather the lever” pre-wetting where boiler pressure pushes water out of the group without activating the pump.
  • The chassis is powder coated steel, with stainless steel or powder coated steel panels.
  • Internal build is heavy duty, with a well thought out layout for easy maintenance.
  • Pretty quick steaming because of the stock 4-hole tip (4x 1mm).
  • Brew pressure is set correctly from the factory to ~8 bars at the group under typical circumstances.
  • Stock portafilter is quite deep (it can take 22-25g baskets, which usually require a bottomless portafilter).
  • Two separate pumps for the brew and service boilers, so it can dispense hot water or fill the service boiler and pressurize the brew loop simultaneously.
  • Stock baskets are IMS made, so pretty good.

The Not So Good:

  • The PID’s UI is somewhat confusing to set for anything more complex than brew and steam temperatures. Keep the user manual, you’re gonna need it.
  • The turn-on timer is pretty much useless, just use a $20 smart plug instead.
  • The stock drip tray is a terrible design. Luckily, Pantechnicon sells a 3D printed replacement part, but it is still baffling that they didn’t update this from the original Silvia or Silvia Pro.
  • The pressure gauge reads pressure at the boiler rather than at the group, so it should be ignored or at least taken with a grain of salt.
  • Steam arm is a traditional type, no no-burn tubing here.
  • The stock shower screen seems to hang onto a lot of coffee grounds, so it’s worth spending $20 on the IMS precision (RA200IM) screen solely for ease of cleaning.
  • Make sure all panels are tightened down all the way to keep noise down - if they are not, they will rattle like mad.

Profitec Pro 300 ($1800 US)

In Short: An overall similar machine to the Silvia Pro X, but with a slightly rebalanced feature set. Good choice if you want flat profile shots and don’t need massive steam power.

The Good:

  • PID controlled brew temperature.
    • Only the brew boiler is PID controlled; this is okay, because a pressurestat is perfectly adequate for a service boiler.
  • Much better drip tray than the Silvia Pro X.
  • 2 hole steam tip with no burn steam arm, and it can take any m8.5x0.75 tip.
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Ring group is (as far as I can tell) E61 portafilter compatible.
  • Very nice mirrored stainless outer panels.

The Not So Good:

  • Only one pump, so dispensing hot water and brewing simultaneously is not recommended (or necessarily possible).
  • No preinfusion. Not a huge issue with vibratory pumps since they have a relatively slow pressure ramp.
  • The service boiler is relatively small at 750ml, so probably not a great idea to use a high flow 4 hole steam tip with it.
  • Drip tray clearance is relatively small.

Lelit Elizabeth ($1800 US):

In Short: Take a Breville Dual Boiler, give it a standard E61 sized group, shrink it down, and give it a heavier frame. You now have a Lelit Elizabeth.

The Good:

  • PID control for both boilers.
  • Steam powered preinfusion option - it uses the pressure from the service boiler to push water into the group to mimic a plumbed-in machine’s line pressure PI.
  • No burn steam arm with 2 and 4 hole tips included.
  • Very shallow depth (11” without portafilter), so good if you’re limited on space.
  • Portafilters are brass and 58mm, and the ring group is E61 portafilter compatible.
  • Steam boiler runs at about 2 bars, so the steam is quite dry and very powerful.

The Not So Good:

  • Small service boiler at 600ml, so you may run out of steam power if doing multiple drinks back to back. Recovery time is short because of its small size, but something to keep in mind.
  • Only one pump, so dispensing hot water and brewing simultaneously is not recommended (or necessarily possible).
  • The stock tamper is a crappy nylon one, which isn’t really forgivable at this price point.

Ascaso Steel Duo PID ($1625 US)

In Short: A unique machine - instead of dual boilers, it uses dual thermocoils (advanced thermoblocks). Great if you need a quick-heating machine and don’t have much space.

The Good:

  • Dual thermoblocks allow for brewing and steaming without waiting for changeover.
  • PID temperature control for brew and steam
  • Thermoblocks and electrically heated group mean quick heatup time - well under 5 minutes from cold.
  • No-burn steam wand.
  • Side accessible water tank means under-counter refilling is easier.
  • Aesthetics are minimalist and inoffensive.
  • Programmable pre-infusion and auto-volumetric shots.
  • Small footprint.

The Not So Good:

  • Thermoblock steam is generally not nearly as powerful as boiler steam.
  • No manual (semiautomatic) option.
  • Pressure set high (~11 bars) from factory with not much ability to adjust down.

Lucca A53 by La Spaziale ($2000 US via Clive Coffee)

In Short: A customized La Spaziale Vivaldi II. This machine has much more steam boiler volume than any other dual machine here. It is unfortunately hamstrung by its rather oddball 53mm group head, large size, and poor cup clearance.

The Good:

  • PID control of both boilers (400ml brew, 1.2L service).
  • Tons of steam power with stock 4x 0.9mm hole tip.
  • Both brew and steam pressure gauges included.
  • E61 style mechanical preinfusion chamber an optional add-on.
  • Lever controlled steam rather than knob - kind of a nice touch to me.
  • Built like an absolute tank.

The Not So Good:

  • Rather strange UI, not the easiest to use ever.
  • 53mm group, which makes accessories more difficult to find than the ubiquitous 58mm.
  • Cup clearance is pretty bad (Gaggia Classic levels of clearance).
  • Quite large footprint.
  • Only one pump, so dispensing hot water and brewing simultaneously is not recommended.

Lelit MaraX ($1700 US, less in Europe)

In Short: The best home Heat Exchanger on the market, bar none. The cheapest usable option for E61 flow control. However its low debit pump and poor quality feet do hamper it somewhat.

The Good:

  • E61 group, which means most parts are standard and an aftermarket flow control paddle can be added easily.
  • PID control with two probes - one in the brew loop, one in the steam boiler. Remarkably good temperature control for a heat exchanger and does not require a cooling flush, despite relatively quick recovery time.
  • 3 temperature settings (Low/Medium/High, corresponding to about 89/91/93C, +/- 2C).
    • It may seem rather coarse compared to machines that show 1C increments, but heat exchangers at their core are rather unstable so +/-2C is really quite good.
  • Very small for its boiler size (1.8L) at only 22cm/9” wide and 41cm/16” deep.
  • No burn steam wand with 2x 0.9mm tip, and can take any M8.5x0.75 tip. The boiler is large enough to handle a 4 hole tip.
  • Low noise for a vibe pump machine.
  • Quicker heatup times than most E61 machines due to an intentional overheating during the startup phase.
  • Relatively easy to do maintenance on internally because of a well-thought out layout, and lots of videos on Lelit’s youtube channel.

The Not So Good:

  • Steaming performance is somewhat variable depending on where the machine is in its temperature cycle.
  • Stock baskets in the past were quite bad, so keep this in mind if buying used.
  • Despite the clever overheat on startup, heating time is long due to the group’s gigantic thermal mass.
  • Like almost every E61 machine, it lacks programmable shot times or volumes (if that matters to you).
  • The stock feet are, unfortunately, quite bad.
  • E61 group is relatively high maintenance.
  • Extremely low water debit (no-restriction flow from group) at about 5ml/s - a result of the low power low noise pump.
  • Small footprint means limited cup storage on top.

Bezzera BZ13 PM ($1550 US)

In Short: One of only two HX machines that made it to the recommended list, it makes it solely for its ridiculous build quality and super fast heatup time. Also, it’s cheap.

The Good:

  • Extremely high build quality.
  • Solid steaming.
  • Very fast (sub-10 minute) heatup via the electrically heated, thermostat controlled group and lack of thermosiphon.
  • Big drip tray capacity.
  • No-burn steam wand with the usual no-burn m8x0.75 threading.
  • Lots of cup storage on top.
  • Low noise for a vibration pump machine.

The Not So Good

  • Still a heat exchanger, so you will need to do a cooling flush.
  • Cup clearance is relatively poor with a spouted portafilter.
  • Uses a different portafilter design than standard (the Bezzera/Simonelli type, specifically).
  • Steam wand is relatively short and doesn’t angle out very far, which can be annoying.
  • OPV limit is set way too high from factory at 12 bars. Easy enough to adjust, but annoying nonetheless.
  • Included tamper is the poor nylon type
  • Stock baskets aren’t great

Quick Mill Silvano Evo ($1250 via Chris’ Coffee)

In Short: A somewhat unique machine, it uses a traditional boiler for brew and a thermoblock for on demand steam. An absolute value king here, being the only machine under $1500 that lands in the recommended category. Nearly identical to the Seattle Coffee Gear house brand Diletta Mio - which is in fact a slightly modified Silvano Evo.

The Good:

  • PID controlled brew and steam temperatures
  • Steam thermoblock can be shut off separately from machine.
  • Pressure set correctly from factory
  • Build quality is excellent
  • Possible to brew and steam simultaneously thanks to dual pump setup
  • Water tank slides out to the side for easy filling under cabinets
  • Externally accessible OPV adjust
  • Quite small

The Not So Good

  • Steam power is substantially weaker than dual boiler or heat exchanger machines - or even the Ascaso thermoblock machine mentioned earlier.
  • Looks are rather unique.
  • Included tamper is a cheap nylon scoop/tamp combo; more forgivable at its price point, though.
  • Lacks the signature Quick Mill pulsor (a noise reducing attachment for vibration pumps)
  • Cup clearance is poor.
  • The stock shower screen seems to hang onto a lot of coffee grounds, so it’s worth spending $20 on the IMS precision (RA200IM) screen solely for ease of cleaning.

ECM Puristika ($1549 US)

In short: Chic, tiny, single-boiler, espresso only machine.

The Good:

  • PID control of boiler temperature, shot timer, eco mode.
  • Adjustable OPV on front of machine - 7.5 to 13+ bar.
  • Quick heatup- ~15 minutes.
  • External water tank
  • E61, so flow control is possible.
  • Incredibly small, similar to the Olympia Cremina.
  • ECM build quality.

The Not So Good:

  • Single Boiler, Single Use. It makes espresso. Nothing else. No steam, no hot water tap/valve.

Compared to the above options, these machines are generally too expensive for the features and functionality they offer. If you get a good deal on one used, then it may be worth considering.

Profitec Pro 500 or almost any PID HX machine

In Short: Most PID heat exchanger machines from the likes of Quick Mill, ECM, Rocket, and so on are similar to this one. A PID on the steam boiler of a heat exchanger is kind of a gimmick - it offers basically no more control than a pressurestat and still relies on getting the thermosiphon tuning correct and/or flushing the group.

The Good:

  • Large 2L boiler
  • Build quality is excellent.
  • No burn steam wand, M8.5x0.75 tip threading.
  • Pressure set roughly correctly from factory.

The Not So Good:

  • PID control, but only of steam boiler temperature. Group thermometer is almost mandatory.
  • Generally quite expensive for its feature set

Nuova Simonelli Oscar II ($1400 US)

In short: Wildly overpriced in the US. This machine lands firmly on the “don’t buy” list from truly baffling shortcomings for the price.

The Good:

  • Low price for a heat exchanger
  • Large 2L boiler
  • Programmable shots
  • NSF Certified, so technically usable in a commercial setting - again, not recommended.
  • Plumb in kit available
  • Lever operated steam valve is a plus.

The Not So Good:

  • Cheap plastic panels. Even Breville, often derided as “appliance grade”, has metal outer panels.
  • Wildly overpriced in the US - these are around €720 in Europe, which makes them a more compelling option.
  • Copper boiler more scale prone
  • Older versions don’t come with an OPV installed.
  • Uses a less common (Simonelli/Bezzera type) portafilter shape.