Choosing between La Marzocco GS3 MP and Decent Espresso DE1XXL - Page 2

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
Quester
Posts: 586
Joined: 8 years ago

#11: Post by Quester »

It's not apples to apples, but I had a GS3 AV for five years, I've had a DE1Pro for three years, and now I have a second DE1Pro that I use for groups.

I've had no issues with the DE1s and only had a minor, easily fixable, issue with the GS3.

What I didn't like about the GS3 was the warm-up time. I had to plan ahead to use the machine. With the DE1, by the time I've prepped the shot, the machine is ready to pull it. I also enjoy the portability of the DE1. It's easy to move around--we even take it camping for several weeks a year. I also like the repeatability of the DE1 once a profile is built for a particular bean and grinder.

For these reasons, I've preferred the DE1 over the GS3. But I loved the GS3 too.

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Marshall
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#12: Post by Marshall »

The GS3 is a semi-commercial machine with large boilers and should either be used with its built-in timer for morning turn-on or just left on 24/7.
Marshall
Los Angeles

clokwork (original poster)
Posts: 57
Joined: 2 years ago

#13: Post by clokwork (original poster) »

Quester wrote:It's not apples to apples, but I had a GS3 AV for five years, I've had a DE1Pro for three years, and now I have a second DE1Pro that I use for groups.

I've had no issues with the DE1s and only had a minor, easily fixable, issue with the GS3.

What I didn't like about the GS3 was the warm-up time. I had to plan ahead to use the machine. With the DE1, by the time I've prepped the shot, the machine is ready to pull it. I also enjoy the portability of the DE1. It's easy to move around--we even take it camping for several weeks a year. I also like the repeatability of the DE1 once a profile is built for a particular bean and grinder.

For these reasons, I've preferred the DE1 over the GS3. But I loved the GS3 too.
I don't know how I didn't consider this. I was caught up in the moment and completely forgot about warmup times. Am I looking at roughly 30 minutes for the machine to warm up? I am seeing that the GS3 powers on by a button, so does that eliminate an easy way to put it on a timer?

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Jake_G
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#14: Post by Jake_G »

GS/3 has a wake up/sleep schedule integrated into the logic board. Easy peasy to schedule when it turns on.

Cheers!

- Jake
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clokwork (original poster)
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#15: Post by clokwork (original poster) »

Peppersass wrote:.
I appreciate the thorough feedback! My mind was made up until I realized the warmup times. I have to find out how much that means to me. With the GS3 timer, there may be times I'm out of town and may forget to cancel, so adding a smart outlet might be required for me.
Randy G. wrote:.
I was considering the XXL for its quicker warmup time (according to Decent's video). That's the primary reason.

Quester
Posts: 586
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#16: Post by Quester »

Jake_G wrote:GS/3 has a wake up/sleep schedule integrated into the logic board. Easy peasy to schedule when it turns on.

Cheers!

- Jake
I imagine this works well for most people, but we don't drink coffee at the same time, the same number of times, and on the same days. So our schedule is a bit wild!

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Jake_G
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#17: Post by Jake_G replying to Quester »

That's fair.

Do you know of the new connected machines allow for remote turn-on by editing the schedule remotely?
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clokwork (original poster)
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#18: Post by clokwork (original poster) »

I'm completely new to conical valves. I was reading on an old GS3 thread that when in use, much of the water gets wasted. I was completely unaware of this if true. Forgive my ignorance of the mechanics.

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Jake_G
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#19: Post by Jake_G »

Very true.

Depends on how you use the paddle but the pump always runs at full capacity and the paddle diverts some of the flow into the drain tray through the mechanical valve.

The M in MP is for "Mechanical" in that the MP does not have an electronic 3 way solenoid valve like many machines employ. Instead, the paddle is directly connected to a mechanical 3-way valve that has a fair amount of "grey area" between "group connected to boiler" and "group connected to drain tube". As such, when you modulate the brew pressure, you do so by selecting a certain amount of "boiler connected to drain tube".

It is effective, but not my preferred choice for profiling.

Cheers!

- Jake
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smite
Posts: 479
Joined: 13 years ago

#20: Post by smite »

I own both and can say that the GS3 is a great machine but depending on how you use pre-infusion via the paddle group, it does tend to waste a good bit of water by redirecting excess into the drip tray. The warmup times for the non xxl version of the DE is incredibly fast and they have recently offered an update that improves this further by giving the user the option to disabling steaming on initial warmup. The GS3 warms up in about 20-30 minutes. The Decent is ready in 5 minutes or less.

Both are amazing machines but deliver very different experiences. The Decent has no cup warmer and is noisier vs the very silent rotary pump on the GS3. This is not to say that the Decent is loud but it is definitely a noticeable bit louder compared to the GS3 when pumping.

Perhaps one might consider this a fairly simple but good analogy, think of the Decent as a fully programmable Tesla with self driving capability and the GS3 MP as Ferrari.

One last note - the continuous improvement of the software and firmware within the Decent is pretty amazing. They have offered additional functionality purely by releasing updates consistently for all of the versions of machines released.