Chris, if you are interested in Elektra, ask yourself whether you want the best possible looking ornament, or the best possible espresso machine. The E61 group is in my opinion a very good thing if fitted to a machine that employs good engineering in every other facet of its engineering as well, BUT it is not the be all and end all of how to judge machines against eachother. The Bezzera Bz02 anf the Bz19 (or whatever the smallest one is called) do not have E61 groups but they have to be measured according to what they do for you, not on the basis of whether they have an E61 group or not. There might be 4 or 5 of them in the workshop, but ask yourslef how many have been sold in Sydney area and surounding areas over the years and whether you think this is a reasonable number to find in thre agent's workshop requiring service....and if this sounds like a favourable plug from me, spare me a thought for giving sound professional advice EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT SELL THEM...AND... have my own brand to push which does employ the E61 group and which is a better semi-commercial machine than anything else that has been mentioned in any discussion under this topic here so far.... Michael, in answer to your question about filters...yes it is the best idea to have a softener / filter in the water line feeding a plumbed in machine, BUT you have to keep after the thing to make sure it keeps softening and filtering over time or you will end up like every other cafe owner THAT NEVER DOES ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR FILTERS AND SOFTENERS AND EXPECT THEM TO LAST 30 YEARS without regeneration or replacement. And in closing, WHAT A GREAT IDEA to make yourslef and your machines look SO EXCLUSIVE, that the public can only attend to view and or demonstrate BY APPOINTMENT. Have we reached the unfortunate stage where the general public has gone completely mad and can be hoodwinked by this kind of bull dust marketing? Mad as hell today, open 9 hours a day Mon to Friday and 3 hours on Sat morning, for demonstration without appointment. Now what was the question again? FC.
