Elektra Micro Casa lever vs La Pavoni Professional

[Hack]

Hi,
I will purchase one or the other soon. Question: Is Elektra really twice as good as La Pavoni given the price difference ($2,100 vs $1,200 or about). Obviously Elektra has that beautiful look and possibly better build quality. But is it that much better in quality of espresso shots? It will be used only for one double shot every morning, btw.
Also, should I hold out to see if there are any second hand Elektras available? Or do they come up at all? If so, what would be a fair price for seconds?
Thanks.

[deegee]

The short answer is NO - the Elektra is not twice as good as the Pavoni, nor is there that much difference between the shots I get from them.

I should point out that while I currently have both machines, I'm not comparing current models. My Pavoni Pro is about six years old, but the MCAL is at least twice as old, probably more. Both were bought second-hand through this site. Even though the Pavoni was in very good condition when I bought it, and the Elektra was in very bad shape, I still paid more for the Elektra. It was definitely not a bargain, but they don't come up for sale often, and perhaps this is why they hold their resale price. I don't totally regret buying the Elektra, because I really wanted a spring lever to compare with the manuals, but I do know which was better value for money. The Pavoni was a real bargain by comparison.

The build quality of the Elektra is a little better - it's very solidly made, except for the base which is a bit "tinny" and prone to rust. While the Pavoni is not quite as heavy duty, it is well built too, from quality materials. I can't say how this applies to the current models - but that's how mine stack up.

The price of S/H Elektra's will vary quite a lot depending on age and condition, and I have only seen two advertised for sale in well over two years. The one I bought was cheaper, but old , and in very poor condition, the other was about $1500 (I think) but was fairly new and advertised as "like new".

I probably get more consistent good to great shots from the Elektra, because the spring is more reliable than my arm, but when I get it right on the Pavoni, there is little or no difference. The Elektra is perhaps a bit more temperature stable, but since I fitted a sensor to the Pavoni that I can connect to a digital thermometer, I can adjust it up or down to get it just right as I pull the shot.

Hope this helps, deegee.

[>Casa Espresso]

Hi Hack,

I will try not to sounded like a biased sponsor pushing his barrow as we supply both the models you are looking at.

I use both of these machines on a regular basis. My personal choice is the La Pavoni, irrespective of price. Maybe the build quality isn't quite up to the standard of the Elektra but I like the "feel" of the La Pavoni back through the lever.

With the Elektra once you let go of the lever the spring does all the work. With the Pavoni the pressure back through the lever gives you an indication of the extraction. You can "feel" the shot. Years ago using the Pavoni taught me a lot about grind, dose, etc...

Quality of the shot is really the same, however the Pavoni offers a more hands on experience, which when you are considering a lever thats part of the attraction in my opinion

Cheers

Antony

[Hack]

Thanks for the replies. In the end I decided to go with a second hand Europiccola.