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Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by atoav on Thursday March 30, 2023 @08:29AM (#35371592)
True. But as an audio engineer I have to say, that just because audiophiles are naive and gullible, doesn't mean there are no other, real, physical aspects that affect actual sound and reproducability.

Same for Espresso. A PID that keeps the brewing temperature steady is superior to a thermostat where the temperature ramps up and down constantly and your brewing temperature depends on experience or luck (people who know their machine would call this "temperature surfing" because you will have to wait for the thermostat to switch on). To which degree brewing temperature affects the result can be discussed, but this could be tested quite easily.

So if you are a coffee afficionado, the number one reason you would like to have a PID is probably convenience. One variable less to care about if you wanna get reproducably (good) results.

I'd also prefer the faders of my mixing desk to keep their levels where I set them instead of fluctuating around.

Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by futurecat on Thursday March 30, 2023 @09:58AM (#35372804)
I own a vintage hifi setup (NAD3020 + AudioReference HR50) that costed me a few hundred bucks. I own a espresso machine that is a clone of the Lelit PL41 with PID and my grinder is a Barazza Encore with M2 burr.

My comment came from a place of love. I’m happy to see people going the extra mile. Myself, I just want to be chill at home and aim for a balanced providing me joy without headaches.

But I’m weird. Example: I love playing vinyls not because it sounds better but because it lacks dynamics and I find that… relaxing!

Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by atoav on Thursday March 30, 2023 @02:10PM (#35376817)
> My comment came from a place of love. I’m happy to see people going the extra mile. Myself, I just want to be chill at home and aim for a balanced providing me joy without headaches.

Reasonable, I am similar in those regards.

I just wanted to highlight that the border between reasonable technical features and audiophile snakeoil is at times not totally clear to draw.

There are e.g. quite expensive audio cables in pro audio as well, but there you pay for reliability and not for esoteric materials.

Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by margalabargala on Thursday March 30, 2023 @02:59PM (#35377417)
I like playing vinyls because there's something neat about interacting with a physical object representing the music. It gives a satisfaction that digital music, or even CDs, do not. I could not care less about the minutiae of the sound quality coming out of it. And that's okay.
Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by futurecat on Thursday March 30, 2023 @03:43PM (#35377873)
Your comment makes me happy as I strongly believe interacting with analog enriches our senses and gives satisfaction.
Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by OJFord on Thursday April 13, 2023 @11:03AM (#35556556)
I love the few seconds to minutes of fiduh-fiduh before someone realised and gets up to flip to the B side, or choose the next record. I think that's a nicer, more relaxing transition than any playlist or DJ could muster.
Re:Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole... by maayank on Friday March 31, 2023 @03:19AM (#35383750)
What’s the clone? Do you recommend it?