Vivaldi II...sold out again!

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Niko

Vivaldi II...sold out again!

Post by Niko »

I just checked Chris' website and he sold them out again!
Already.
I cannot believe how quickly this machine is flying off the shelves.
blacroix

Post by blacroix »

Absolutely amazing! It'd be interesting to find out from La Spaziale how many S1's, in total, they have sold and compare that to other machines in the price range/caliber. This has to be one of the hottest products in it's niche.

Brian
Niko

Post by Niko »

AND YET AGAIN...SOLD OUT!
Pretty soon there's going to be more Vivaldi II units than the original. Chris' is taking pre-orders for June now.
This is amazing.
4vDesmo

Post by 4vDesmo »

I guess I got in just under the wire. Whew, that was close!
Niko

Post by Niko »

Yeah, you almost had to fly out there yourself to pick it up!
Good thing you got it when you did otherwise it would've been more....
hey what machine were you using before the Spaz?
4vDesmo

Post by 4vDesmo »

Oh, so now you want to embarass me? Like I can't do that myself?

An old GF gave me a Briel machine for Christmas long ago. I loved it, but what did I know. A few years later I tried to upgrade to some multi-tool grinder/brewer unit that SBUX was selling, but it was a POS so it went back for a refund. And the plastic Briel kept plugging away.

The article in Forbes Life in March got me inspired to upgrade and get a real one. Started roasting, and finally stepped up to the S1 after loads of internet research. Looks like I timed it just right too.
Niko

Post by Niko »

4vDesmo wrote:Oh, so now you want to embarass me? Like I can't do that myself?
You're not the only one, you otta' see what machines some of us started with. I still have one of my first machines, it's in the laundry room closet but it comes out for travels on rare occasion. It's an old Krups Nuovo of some sort with a real brass PF (non-pressurized) - got to love the good ol' days when cheap machines were built better. Besides that, I can microfoam as well on this crappy unit and give the S1 a run for its money (although it's 50 times slower). Actually for the money, this little clunker stomps all. Ahh, the good ol' days...
there, now I've embarrased myself.
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

What is this, the 3rd time now?

It would probably sell out even faster if people bought it strictly on performance. Seems like a lot of people would rather have an aesthetically pleasing machine over performance, go figure.

I have not have the opportunity to compare machines in person, but does anything even come close to the VI-VII performance to price?
Niko

Post by Niko »

Yes, it's the 3rd time. That means 300 machines, two more waves and there will be as many VII's out there as the orginal model. This shouldn't take long considering the rate this newer model is selling.
As far as the competition goes, I can't think of any right now...the closest thing would be the GS3 since it has dual boilers, the same exact rotary pump and an option to be plumbed in. All that can be had, however, at closer to 5k after the plumb in kit (anything from Marzocco is not cheap) and all the repairs that comes with one. I guess we can throw the Brewtus II in there but that's a whole different animal and it's like comparing apples to oranges. The Brewtus II is marketed as the best espresso machine for the home user and it deserves that honor considering the features. It has dual boilers, E61 group, runs on 15A, a vibe pump and it does not have to be plumbed in. The plumbing in part scares most people. The Brewtus is pretty close in price to an S1 but it's in another class where it rules. So yeah, the S1 is truly in it's own realm.

I guess the Brewtus II would be something like my Anita on growth hormones, more stable temp control? I'm guessing...
and also that second boiler but although I've heard that steaming isn't very powerful at all on the Brewtus', then again that's not why they added that 2nd boiler, it was for independent temp stability and it seems to do the job since most people like the machine.
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chas
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Post by chas »

Chris must be selling about a dozen a week. Pretty damn good and most of those folks buy a grinder and the filter kit at least.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

chas wrote:and most of those folks buy a grinder and the filter kit at least.
I know I did :wink:
4vDesmo

Post by 4vDesmo »

Ditto on the grinder, plus a bunch of accessories. The add-on volume has to be significant.

I really wasn't considering it because of the plumb-in. I liked the look of the S1, liked the quieter rotary pump, etc, but the simplicity of pour-over kept me looking elsewhere. But once I was past that mental hurdle, it was the only one I wanted.

Of course I still haven't plumbed it officially - it is a temporary setup until I figure out a way thru the wall or granite countertop. But it is working, and I haven't had to fill a reservoir yet 8)
Niko

Post by Niko »

4vDesmo wrote:Of course I still haven't plumbed it officially - it is a temporary setup until I figure out a way thru the wall or granite countertop. But it is working, and I haven't had to fill a reservoir yet 8)
Steve,
Please tell me you didn't install it in your plane!
I hope you're not "flying" around with the S1 and pulling shots while on auto-pilot... :lol:
jonniewishbone

Post by jonniewishbone »

I should have kept my name in line for the last bunch and then sold it here for a HUGE profit!! Hot stock tips..
4vDesmo

Post by 4vDesmo »

Now there's an idea - in the plane. Yeah!
Unfortunately I think it may be a bit large for that location.
Niko

Post by Niko »

4vDesmo wrote:Now there's an idea - in the plane. Yeah!
Unfortunately I think it may be a bit large for that location.
No it's NOT!
...just don't ever take any passengers with you. I'm sure you'll be well within your weight limits. :wink:
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ScottW
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Post by ScottW »

I think I have room for an S1 in my plane, and can handle the weight. But keeping that John Guest tubing spooling out and connected at the hangar could be real challenging. :-)
algrilli

Post by algrilli »

I got the last one just before Memorial Day. There was one left in the showroom at Chris' Coffee on May 25th, so my wife and I just drove up there to visit; it's only about 1.5 hrs from the house.

Mary stayed with us for 2 hours while we looked a number of machines, but in the end, I came home with the Vivaldi (only a month old) all shiny, calibrated and ready to roll!
Niko

Post by Niko »

I would love to fly out to there to shop for my next machine at Chris'. It would be nice to finally meet the people behind the company in person and then of course check out that showroom.
Did you shoot any pics while you were there?

Enjoy your new machine.
algrilli

Post by algrilli »

No pics.. Darn, I'm usually the one to remember those things.. But what a nice day I had visiting! The showroom is exactly as you see it on the website, minus the Vivaldi ;) The building is in an industrial park. It's pretty nice, somewhat rural, yet with traffic, if that makes any sense.

Mary is wonderful, as usual, just like everyone says. Very relaxed, knowledgeable, interested, and caring. She stayed with us even though it was the Friday before a holiday and the rest of the staff were now out having a cookout in the sunshine and eating lunch.

Chris is larger than life, full of stories and facts with a quick wit. He's energetic too. As he talked, he weaved his way around the showroom, towel drying here, opening a steam valve there, or running a flush. These are folks you can talk to very easily and happy to welcome you into their business. Even the warehouse workers were all very nice.

I also had the priviledge of meeting Jim Gallt of PID fame who happened to be visiting. He talked of temperature stability and how the PID works. Jim joked that he has too many machines and may have to put some on ebay. I took it all in, as Mary and I pulled equisite shots on the S1. She taught how me to steam milk, and about 10 seconds later I had frothed my first pitcher on the happily humming machine.

All those machines! Overall, the Vivaldi just stood way out from the others in terms of ease of operation and beauty. I'm sure they're all capable in their own way, but one way or another, they weren't for us. The Vetrano was doing the hot water dance, the Alex was VERY noisy for a rotary, and the Elektra just looked like a BIG hulking HX to me. The PID'd Alexia was cute, but the Silvia just looked too small. Of course there were the huge commercial machines as well, which were amazing to see. In contrast the Vivaldi was sleek, stylish heavy, powerful and just waiting for you to walk up to it and pull a shot. No noise, no HX flushing, no guage-watching. Just a quiet available friend. The black plastic sides and driptray add an element of "warmth" that the the stainless units lack. I pretty much knew I would buy it in the first few minutes, but I had to check out the others to be sure. I also knew my wife could operate it easily.

I'm usually NEVER a "floor model" buyer, especially for such an important purchase, but this time I'm glad I could it acutally test the machine first. Those of you who can only view and order them online should take comfort in knowing that you're getting a beautiful, boxed, brand-spanking-new, solid, espresso machine that will definitely perform as advertised. It's worth the wait. And the folks at Chris' will stand behind this machine, no question.

What a great day it was!
Niko

Post by Niko »

I really enjoyed reading about your visit to Chris' and your buying experience. This alone is worth a plane ticket out there for me, I'm going to seriously consider this for the next big purchase to meet the people behind the machines. Also, it would be nice to see the actual unit in person before buying it. It's great to hear you mention how comfortable you were in buying a "floor model" because I normally don't make those types of purchases either.



...and damn, no pictures!
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chas
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Post by chas »

I see the Chris Coffee Website says the VII is back in stock and shipping!
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
Niko

Post by Niko »

No...
Something is wrong with the cookies on the website or something, I get the same message also. I thought the same thing but when I cleared everything in my browser, it said sold out again!
Something is awry though.
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chas
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Post by chas »

Very strange. I've flushed my cache, tried it on different machines, and I get the same result. You can click reload over and over and the home page keeps switching between back in stock and sold out.

However, if you do the same thing on the VII page, it consistently says "Back in Stock".
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
Niko

Post by Niko »

I think it depends on the browser, it keeps going back and forth on me too but with one of the 5 different browsers I use it's pretty consistent. It is kind of odd, someone might place an order thinking they can get a VII and then only to get disappointed (I'd hate to be that person).
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ScottW
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Post by ScottW »

chas wrote:However, if you do the same thing on the VII page, it consistently says "Back in Stock".
Except that there are TWO different VII pages, one for "in stock" and one for "out of stock". These are static pages, and will continue to say the same thing reload after reload.

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... /vivaldi_2 (sold out)
http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... spaziales1 (in stock)

The home page has a dynamic server-side include for the "featured product" banner. Undoubtedly was meant as a way to have several "featured products", with a random one being displayed when a customer visits the page. But someone has mistakenly left both the "in-stock" and "out-of-stock" listings for the V-II in play, rather than removing one of them. The "in-stock" listing points to one of the static VII pages, the "out of stock" listing points to the other.
Niko

Post by Niko »

Well that explains it!
Maybe you should tell Chris so they can fix this.
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ScottW
Espresso
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Location: North of Seattle

Post by ScottW »

I sent an email to Chris and Mary.

*** UPDATE ***
After a couple back-and-forths with their web designer, they got the problem fixed about 3:45pm PST. It consistently shows "out of stock" now.

Next shipment expected in 2-3 weeks!
The V-II's are jumping off the shelves. :blob4:
Niko

Post by Niko »

It's been weeks now, anyone have any news of the next shipment of VII's? They must be somewhere on the Atlantic already if not waiting on port somewhere.


Chris mentioned on another website that La Spaziale can't make the Vivaldi II's fast enought for him! The supply can't keep up with the demand, I guess it's a nice position to be in if you're Spaziale's shoes....

UPDATE:
Looks like they just arrived on June 20th.
Nice.
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

Looks like Chris sold out yet again, but back in stock as of 08/23. Amazing, they must be putting in quite the OT at the factory the last few months
Niko

Post by Niko »

Damn :shock:
How'd I miss that one!
...I didn't see them run out of the June shipment, did they?
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

It seemed like it must of been like a week or less, not really sure though.
Niko

Post by Niko »

You're going to put a kink in that cat's neck!
...cool avatar, I was trying to think of a new one that has some animation but I think my big mouth more than makes up for it :director:
Is that your cat?
I have a dwarf rabbit named "Ristretto"...and yes he's dark brown.
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

The cat was making me a bit sea sick. I have a really cool one I need to reduce.

I do have 3 cats, but the animated one is not mine
Niko

Post by Niko »

Ahhh, Man!
I really liked the cat...now nobody will know what we're talking about.
OK everyone, he had a cool avatar of a cat that was moving its head back and forth. It was making me sea sick also but it was still cool :headbang:
Zzyzx

Post by Zzyzx »

Ok, I will let the kitty be for a while :)
Niko

Post by Niko »

:headbang:
4vDesmo

Post by 4vDesmo »

Looks like the new S2 batch came with a price increase too.

Your used Vivaldi is now worth $100 more!
Niko

Post by Niko »

Thanks to the Euro.
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