Opus

Retention from the gen 1 is holding me back from getting the gen 2 especially when I have to bang the top to get the sweet .3 - .10 grams left lol

I had a faulty opus1 that took 2.5x longer then it was supposed to.  Fellow sent me a new unit and 25g in 20seconds for espresso.  You might have the same issues

If I may, I would definitely recommend a Breville in your case. Being a beginner, the assisted features on these machines can be really helpful for you. A Gaggia is well-built, but unless you're willing to modify it, I would take a Breville every day. Also, a starter machine for $1,000 seems a bit too much, assuming that you don't have a decent grinder. I would really recommend that you put that money—or the larger part of it—into a decent grinder rather than an espresso machine. I would recommend an Ascaso H64 or a Timemore Sculptor; each of them is well-built, but you would have an easier time dialing in with the Ascaso as a beginner. Other cheaper options would be for a Turin grinder but i'm not so familial with them and i think that for this budget you can get something beyond what they offer. After that, with whatever money you have left, you should be able to buy at least a used Breville Bambino, or maybe even a Bambino Plus to help you with milk steaming. But remember one thing: a machine is just a pump that pushes water at 9 bars of pressure, and that's it (ofc there's more to it but this right here is all you need to make very good espresso anything more like pressure profiling, temp control and the rest are for what lays beyond that) . When you get into making espresso at home, you should focus way more on your beans, water, and grinder. Hope this helps!

Fellow grinders don't fare that well with espresso. The Opus Gen 1, for the price, really isn't that great and can struggle with retention or consistency. As for the Ode, it's a really good grinder, but the dial just isn't suited for espresso. Even with SSP burrs, you won't be able to dial in very well, not to mention the decreased lifespan of the motor under those loads. Don't get me wrong, I know how well it performs for the application you're using it for, but it's just not granular enough for the task at hand. With your current setup, if you want to get into making espresso, I would recommend selling the Fellow grinder and putting the money toward a better grinder that would give you the option for both espresso and filter coffee. If you get a Bambino Plus, I would recommend at least buying a Baratza Encore ESP. If you can afford more, then look into a DF54 or DF64; a bit more than that, and you fall into the category of my first response. Hope this helps!

I have this grinder too and bought a bellow from Amazon to help with retention. I’ve been able to adjust the grinder to dial in my espresso just how I want it, but this grinder has a major issue with retention. You’ll have to firmly tap the side of the grinder (and use a bellow if you have one) to get most of the grounds out. This is my first grinder so I honestly don’t know how well it does for its price. I like the design (looks wise), and the two dial adjusting system, but if I knew about the retention issue I probably wouldn’t have bought it.

Baratza and Opus often can be found for that much. Or get an X-Ultra

Just a lot of retention with the Opus.

I’ve had my Opus for close to a year and X-ultra a tad longer. Love the X-ultra but I only use it for pour over so it’s always easy to make small adjustments. The Opus is easy as well in that way but I like to keep it at my espresso setting and occasionally aeropress.

I’ve got the X-Ultra with the folding handle. Love it but I only use it for pour over. Hard to see the dial and annoying to change it if you make different types of coffee everyday. I use the Opus for espresso (which I commented about and don’t love).

I would skip the Opus. I bought the bellows that you can put on top and still get a mess and lots of retention. Sure it looks cool at first but the white one will show loose grinds all the time. Also it’s plastic and suppose it may last but I always have to smack on the side and underneath to get more grinds out. Might get a DF54. Saw one in a kitchen and it did look nice.

Don’t even get me started! lol.