Synchronika I

So, for what it’s worth I have an ECM synch - however it’s a version one so take it with a grain of salt. If you never had a chance to use one before - the first thing you will notice is that it’s a fucking tank. Not in an intruding way, as its profile is not too big on the counter however, it’s heavy, well built, and feels like it’ll last generation. Coming from a Breville Dual boiler beforehand, they are in two entirely different leagues. I can’t speak for the Linea Micra, but if you end up at the ECM, you’ll save a few thousand dollars, and I can pretty comfortably say that you’ll be happy for a long, long while. Grab a good grinder, and spend the rest of the money getting a good coffee subscription. 

Got the ecm synch as my first “real” machine after graduating from pods. Was making great espresso day 1. Flow control is great to have, but you can also leave it at “stock” flow rate and not think about it. Buy once/cry once, the thing is a tank and has all the features i wanted and when friends/family are in town i crank out shots b2b no problem. Im one year into ownership and my only complaint is that i need to upgrade my grinder to a higher tier, but im also still having fun playing with all the variables and will probably wait until i feel like i truly understand what im doing lol Happy to answer questions about it, i make 5-6 shots (some black, some milk drinks) a day on weekdays and more on weekends. Its completely ruined pour over as i really prefer espresso

A dual boiler is kind of unnecessary if you arent doing milk drinks. A single boiler, yes. But the second boiler is for steaming milk mostly. You can make an americano with a shot and hot tap water, or with a single boiler that has hot water on a heat exchange circuit like you said. I have an ecm synchronika and its slightly above ur budget but its fantastic. It can do multiple americanos in a row easily. It can do more too but i doubt uou gain much from that.

Great question - this was the final determining factor for me choosing my machine, I wanted to choose the spot (for me) where I sat on the diminishing return curve. Everyone is different of course, but for me it was clearly the ECM Synchronika. Everything below it felt like it had some sort of compromise, and everything above it didn't seem like the extra features etc were worth the money. I still stand by my theory, I am super happy with my machine and 2 1/2 years later I have no regret or envy - if I won the lottery I would probably just yolo a Slayer. Grinders on the other hand - I feel like I could have gone a bit overboard with the E65S GBW but again zero regrets, a lot of new grinders have come out in the last couple of years so maybe I'd make a different decision if I had to today, but it's built like a tank & will work forever & the workflow is fantastic.

Disagree - this exact question was what I asked myself when I bought my Synchronika - everyone is different of course - but for me it was as good a machine as I thought I could get before we got in to 'silly' territoriy.

I'm happy with my ECM Synchronika

Until recently I had a Profitec 700 v1 and hadn't looked around for anything else. I bought it used and unfortunately had some scale issues. Watching a few videos, I was able to open it up, take it all apart and clean every corner of it without much fuss. Amazing machine, left it like new. Used it for about a year without issues. Didn't think much of ECM vs Profitec quality comparisons as the Profitec is amazing. Came upon an opportunity on a Synchronika I and took the plunge. I took a couple of weeks to decide which one I was going to keep as internally they're basically the same machine. ECM is a little nicer but not by much, the top tray, I actually liked Profitec better, ultimately what won out was the ease of opening it up, ECM can be done from the top, on Profitec you have to unscrew from the bottom but I would've been very happy with either. As far as your predicament, the new ECM Synchronika II does have the advantage of faster heat-up with assisted heating in the group while the Drive has included flow control. I don't care much for the fast heat-up as I use a smart plug to get it ready in the morning. Flow control can be added to Synchronika easily if that's of interest. So, I'd say, if there's a significant price difference, I'd go for the cheaper one unless you prefer the looks of one over the other.

It's a bit unclear what your hard constraints are. The Synchronika has a group heater, and the 700 has the ECM/Profitec fast heat trick, but neither will be ready in 1:30 or even close to that. Is it okay to pull blank shots until everything is warmed up, or have the machine on much of the day? Typically a thermocoil / thermoblock would be used to get less than five minute heat time and a dual version of that if you want to freely mix brewing and steaming. E.g. the (20 amp) Acaso Steel Duo. Are you invested in E61? That excludes most machines. As an aside you'll almost certainly want soft water. BWT (among others) makes in-line and in reservoir softeners.