The VII is not "worth" anymore than the original S1, the thing that drives the price up is demand and the fact that the VII has a timer add-on for almost $200 more.
I own both machines and I can tell you that it's basically the same parts, not quite the same machine so I'd strongly suggest the VII.
If I were you, I wouldn't even look at the S1, turn away and hold your nose in the air...
Buy the Vivaldi II, it would be crazy to buy the older version of something unless the other "something" is hundreds and hundreds cheaper - like "as in" $400 or more.
It would cost you over $500 to upgrade an existing S1 to the VII specs, not worth it, so I'd buy the already updated machine if I were given the choice.
The original S1 is a very solid machine that'll give you years of service, the proof is on this website. If you don't care for dual gauges, timer, better temp stability, better temp control and better steaming - then go for the original. I'm not trying to steer you away from a good deal but rather point you int the right direction...forward.
S1 vs. S1-VII -- what price gap is reasonable
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Niko
Tom,
I can honestly say that the VII has more powerful steaming, I don't know exactly why. I have the original S1 for over six months now and its steaming performance is really good but not as good as the VII's.
I've narrowed it down to this so far, the new 4-hole tip and the new boiler sensor. Yeah, these two things can be changed but I think its about a hundred bucks just for this so far. Also, the new board controls the pressure limit in the boiler as well, that'll cost you another 250 just for the board...
You know where this leads you, more money and time spent trying to get an VI closer to the VII specs.
Temperature control is a lot easier on the new unit, yes you can hit the 1 degree marks with the old unit but the element won't kick on when it senses one half a degree like the new one. I've noticed that my VII is WAY WAY WAY more sensitive in this respect. I literally have to jump on the S1 and pull a blank or two to get the temp going again (after it's been idle for longer than just a few minutes). The VII is always ready to go no matter how long it sits, BAM it's ready shot after shot. I find that the S1 slows me down at times, the VII sometimes waits for me! The S1 runs out of gas towards the last 25% of frothing milk, the VII finishes it off nicely. It clearly has been fine tuned by the engineers at Spaziale.
But wait, there's more...
The VII is much quieter than the VI, they've modified the position of the fan. Sure, you can easily do this yourself if you like poking around the insides of the machine. Most people don't mind, I'd rather make coffee than modify things. I'm not touching my S1/VI unless it has a problem.
Another odd thing I noticed was how much quieter the machine is overall, I think they really did "something" extra to quiet the new ones down. I have 2 machines, so I can notice these things and compare. My orginal S1 is a very late model, the serial numbers are only a couple hundred away from each other so these improvements are pretty recent.
Here's a final thought, if you get the original S1, there's still a (small) chance that your steam boiler sensor might fail. This old style sensor seems to fail on the units made in the last 18 months. Bad batch? Who knows...
I can honestly say that the VII has more powerful steaming, I don't know exactly why. I have the original S1 for over six months now and its steaming performance is really good but not as good as the VII's.
I've narrowed it down to this so far, the new 4-hole tip and the new boiler sensor. Yeah, these two things can be changed but I think its about a hundred bucks just for this so far. Also, the new board controls the pressure limit in the boiler as well, that'll cost you another 250 just for the board...
You know where this leads you, more money and time spent trying to get an VI closer to the VII specs.
Temperature control is a lot easier on the new unit, yes you can hit the 1 degree marks with the old unit but the element won't kick on when it senses one half a degree like the new one. I've noticed that my VII is WAY WAY WAY more sensitive in this respect. I literally have to jump on the S1 and pull a blank or two to get the temp going again (after it's been idle for longer than just a few minutes). The VII is always ready to go no matter how long it sits, BAM it's ready shot after shot. I find that the S1 slows me down at times, the VII sometimes waits for me! The S1 runs out of gas towards the last 25% of frothing milk, the VII finishes it off nicely. It clearly has been fine tuned by the engineers at Spaziale.
But wait, there's more...
The VII is much quieter than the VI, they've modified the position of the fan. Sure, you can easily do this yourself if you like poking around the insides of the machine. Most people don't mind, I'd rather make coffee than modify things. I'm not touching my S1/VI unless it has a problem.
Another odd thing I noticed was how much quieter the machine is overall, I think they really did "something" extra to quiet the new ones down. I have 2 machines, so I can notice these things and compare. My orginal S1 is a very late model, the serial numbers are only a couple hundred away from each other so these improvements are pretty recent.
Here's a final thought, if you get the original S1, there's still a (small) chance that your steam boiler sensor might fail. This old style sensor seems to fail on the units made in the last 18 months. Bad batch? Who knows...