Breville - Mara X Series

Man I hear you. I have first one since it came out.   I have replaced the computer due to over heating when turning on. Would make so much noise.  My leds are hit and miss. So haven’t fixed them.  My gauge was half busted pretty much since new. Now it’s fully busted so I have just replaced that. I will actually see what steam pressure it’s at finally.   It has had so many leaks as well. Hopefully after this service I willl be leak free and a working gauge.   And yes the worst bit. No steam!  But I have had it for a while and made a buttload of coffees from it. So it’s not all bad. 

I see people saying Ascaso has QC issues, and perhaps that’s true but I have had nothing but problems with the Mara X (first gen) and all the parts are custom Lelit sized and outrageously expensive, just spent $40 CAD on a group head gasket (a $3 dollar piece or rubber), $200 to replace the water tank (plastic must be expensive in Italy), both of my indicator lights stopped working after 2 years and I refuse to pay $150 dollars for a wiring harness replacement two cheap LED lights, and more recently my steam pressure has disappeared and the machine will not generate steam as expected, can’t wait to see what that fix costs me.

The Mara X is not overkill, but as I wrote in another comment, it doesn't offer the reproducibility you get from an Elizabeth or even a Victoria. I know many will disagree, but in my book a Silvia is an entry-level machine, not a mid-tier one.

I would swap the Mara X for an Elizabeth and the DF54 for a DF64. Both are pricier but worth the extra money. The Mara X takes longer to warm up and, IMO, provides less consistent outcomes. The Profitec Pro 300 is an excellent alternative too. While I don't love the DF64, it's a good grinder for your use case. You can't go wrong with it within this budget.

What you have here is a Ferrari vs a Malibu. Yes both will grant espresso but the quality and control with the Mara x is very different than the bambino.

I have a MaraX with a smart switch and a Mignon XL so I pretty much sleep walk my way through the first cappuccino in 2-3 minutes each morning. I don’t dial in new beans everyday, I start a bag and finish it and the roast level is generally medium to medium dark and close to the last bag so I’m not spending more than 3 shots to dial-in the next bag. I use a scale, the stock metal tamper, and sometimes a WDT tool. I don’t have any other home barista gadgets.

MaraX for me, added flow paddle and I don’t need anything else in a machine.

With MaraX I would only upgrade if it breaks.. thats actually my stance with anything which is good enough.

For same reasons I went for a good HX. Wanted flow profiling and good thermal stability inside of small footprint machine. I think at the moment MaraX rules these waters (when you add flow paddle onto it). Happy to learn about alternatives if there are any.

I think more or less the same. Grace has slightly smaller boiler and 57mm portafilter. The internals outside of that (and related sized parts) are the same. I used to own Grace, replaced the pump for the quieter MaraX version and the steam wand for Elisabeth’s cool touch one. It was decent machine, only moved on because I wanted better flow profiling. You can still do that on Grace by opening the steam valve while brewing but it causes temp stability issues. Now I have maraX and added flow paddle.

Same as MaraX.. this is not even dual boiler territory and steaming while brewing is just no bother

MaraX with flow control does the trick for me.. not really sure what else can be improved. Maybe reduction of water temperature for the second half of the shot.

Mara X owner here. Can confirm I can simultaneously brew and steam. Amazing performance for a single boiler HX. Cost me about $1,300. What’s cool is if I spent another $250, I can add on the flow control valve. At that point, I don’t really know how it’s really any less than a $6k LaMarzocco.

Id go for the Mara X of you budget can test it. It’s a while other bullgame. The only downside of the Lelit IMO is the warm up time that many people don’t have the time to wait (let’s say 15-30 mins) and energy consumption. Apart from that is superior in everything else IMO. If you plant to have a machine for a lot time, or even for life (with the obvious need of regular maintenance) go for the Lelit. The lifespan of the Sage tends to be way shorter and harder to repair due to the poorer build quality.

I wouldn't get the Casa and I'd use the money for fucking around with the flow control kit, but you do you. One thing to consider with an E61 babychonker like the Mara is the heatup time (and associated power consumption). Just gotta make sure you're OK with that - but other boiler machines are no better.

Save on glassware and buy Duralex Picardies in 3 sizes - support worker-owned French-made glass! Fellow Stagg is a luxury item. There's a Graef-branded temp control kettle that'll do just fine. Just with those supposed downgrades, you're halfway to adding a flow control kit to your Mara X.

I started with a BBE (as I naively thought a built-in grinder was a great idea) and then got the Mara X. Personally, I think the Bambino is the best starting point and is what I’d get in your situation. I love my Mara, but the warm up times are extensive and, unless you’re regularly pulling more than two drinks back-to-back, I honestly think the Bambino offers almost just as much as the far more expensive Mara X. My wife finds the Mara confusing, slow, demanding, and misses the ease of the BBE. With your savings, make sure you get a v good grinder (as you’ll see much greater improvements there, rather than on the actual espresso machine).