Re: Delivery of the GS/3 in 2006

In article <0errp2tjvri2nmjeakl5m61uhd2sv7nhl6@xxxxxxx>,
someone@xxxxxxxxxxx says...
On Thu, 4 Jan 2007 23:11:14 -0700, "Ken Fox"
<morceaudemerde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"I->Ian" <someone@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3hqrp25vji0tk2q0996bv6j73r8n9r7hoa@xxxxxxxxxx
On 4 Jan 2007 17:28:26 -0800, terryz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Just wondering, but did anyone in North America receive a production
GS/3 in 2006?

Who cares?

It's ugly, overpriced and makes no better coffee.

I think you are being overly harsh.

It's an admirable machine and has the capability to make great shots with
little effort. Will it make better shots than the best shots experienced
users can coax out of other good equipment? That's an open question, but
there is no doubt that it is a great machine and fills a real niche.

We should encourage the mfrs to make better stuff designed for us
afficianados, not chastise them for trying to do so.

ken


At half the money, I might agree. It's hard to see where the extra
$3500 is in performance relative to a ubiquitous Italian SS HX with a
PID.

We know that the machine is probably the least important of the 4m's.

Most, perhaps 95%, of the 'effort' in making espresso is getting good
coffee, maintaining a decent grinder and paying enough attention on
dose and tamp to be consistent. None of that will change.

Most of the machines will probably be bought by 'affectados' with more
money than knowledge. They will continue to serve the same drech and
rave about it.

A moderately skilled or better home barista with decent beans and an
adequate grinder will pull no better, and more likely much worse, on
a GS/3 shots than you and Jr or JS or DK or MP or [jnsert name here]

If the production model functions as the prototype reports I've read,
the "extra value" will depend on what each individual user considers
"value", and that will depend on a lot of individual factors.

Personally, I would not find the GS3 appreciably better than my Wega
Mininova for making shots and cappas for my own consumption. I'm very
satisfied with the quality of the output I get from the Wega.

But dinner parties are another matter. My friends have developed a
fondness for my cappas. Even people who don't normally drink coffee
relish them. I often end up cranking out half a dozen cappas in quick
succession after we host lunch or dinner. Based on the reports I've
read, I think it would be appreciably faster and easier to make six high
quality cappas in a row with the GS3 than with my Wega.

Is that worth an additional $3500? That depends on how often you host
dinner parties, how much it matters to you to serve your best to guests,
and how much spare cash you have languishing in your bank account. I
will seriously consider the GS3 if the production model lives up to the
Beta test reports I've read.

Rick
.