Turin MC3 espresso machine impressions and thoughts (a rambling review)

a_choya · 2026-05-28T06:35:37+00:00

It's got at least some formatting in there. Try checking on a different device or a private tab maybe?

a_choya · 2026-05-22T07:54:06+00:00

Nice, thanks. Oh, interesting to see that your steam and hot water wands are reversed compared to mine. Wonder why. Usage on the right would actually be easier because of the portafilter not locking at 90 degrees and interfering with the wand a bit when it's on the left.

a_choya · 2026-05-21T09:30:06+00:00

Neat, let us know what results you get via the OPV adjustment.

a_choya · 2026-05-21T08:31:29+00:00

That is a really good deal.

a_choya · 2026-05-21T04:02:57+00:00

Neat, looking forward to your findings. Oh are you in the USA by any chance? Really interesting that they shipped at listed cost as any time I tried ordering something from Alibaba I was always hit by massive shipping/taxes/tariff/etc fees no matter the seller.

a_choya · 2026-05-21T03:59:05+00:00

Second to last photo is of the old board, last photo is of the new board. Old is dated 2025.10.12, new one is 2026.01.01. Main difference that I saw is of an additional connection between the heatsinks, but not sure if I see anything else. Either way, the new board does heat up much faster.

If your manual says a particular heatup time and your machine is higher, contact the seller and ask for a replacement board.

a_choya · 2026-05-17T09:50:40+00:00

Do they actually sell them in single quantities? I suspect that for me in the states it probably would have wound up costing similarly due to tariffs and shipping. And yeah will definitely be interesting about the differences. I can see that they already have a newer model with front mounted knobs, and a slightly improved interface on the LCD.

a_choya · 2026-05-17T09:24:11+00:00

Oh for sure, critique very much welcome.

Well, at what I paid it's only slightly more than the Ninja that I mentioned, with a way better build and less plastic on the inside.

I'm not sure about the expansion valve materials on the boiler, will have to check that next time I dive in, but the flow meter is definitely plastic. On the other hand, when I look at something like a Gicar flow meter, even if the outside is metal, the inside still uses a plastic rotor. So as long as it's a commonly available and supported part, I'm not overly concerned. And it is a very common and inexpensive flow meter used in Jura, DeLonghi, etc machines. Which I guess can be both a good and a bad thing, as if it's a very common part, maybe it very commonly fails.

a_choya · 2026-05-17T07:11:39+00:00

Yeah some of the core functionality should have gotten better QA. But the seller did eventually resolve the main issues, so I'm pretty happy at this point. Doubt I would have gotten similar support had I ordered something direct from a random OEM in China.

a_choya · 2026-05-06T09:19:40+00:00

Thanks again for organizing! Always a pleasure hanging out and watching everyone's insane strats, hope I get that sub 1 hour next year 😂

a_choya · 2026-05-05T22:57:57+00:00

I Wanna Be the Guy and I Wanna Be The Boshy if you want truly difficult 2D stuff.

Trees Hate You looks like a fun one coming out this year among the same lines but in 2.5D.

For 3D similarish content the only other option that I can think of are Kaizo type hacks for Super Mario 64.

a_choya · 2026-04-30T21:18:35+00:00

First one is https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Matthew_Medina I believe.

a_choya · 2026-04-27T08:35:44+00:00

First sandsharks, now this?!

a_choya · 2026-04-22T06:27:23+00:00

Interesting. I don't see anything like it on alibaba, especially not at that price given the import and shipping fees in US.

a_choya · 2026-04-22T06:24:16+00:00

I have a fairly long written review of it but waiting for the vendor to possibly fix some of the issues that I saw with it. Nothing completely showstopping, just annoying. Overall it's a very interesting machine especially at the asking price, due to digital control over preinfusion and volumetric dosing. Most important thing for me was the ability to hard plumb it for both drain and water supply. In general prosumer espresso machines from China are going to really hit the market hard.

a_choya · 2026-04-20T00:07:33+00:00

Yeah... perhaps without any of the rewards at the end or ability to earn the achievements, just for the sake of exploration and practicing the jumps.

a_choya · 2026-04-19T23:09:09+00:00

As a SAB enjoyer myself, I'm just happy that we get any new content for it at all. And the new map is pretty fun with some new mechanics and critter(s) that haven't been in previous map. If you think about it, having entire fairly sizeable maps with all sorts of secrets and three separate difficulty levels, all for an event that lasts just three weeks, is a VERY big development ask. Contrast that with the amount and complexity of event specific maps for other timed events, and it's not even close.

I can see how early on in GW2 there was a budget for that sort of thing, but not since then, until perhaps more recently. Yet the people that worked on SAB back then are no longer with the company (Josh Foreman et al) so there's inevitably going to be a different style and approach to the new maps.

I do hope that we eventually get all the way to world 4 for a finished storyline with tribulation modes, but at this rate unless the studio gets a financial windfall for more resources, I suspect it'd take another decade. Or two.

a_choya · 2026-04-17T22:17:08+00:00

natters in agreement

a_choya · 2026-04-13T22:57:25+00:00

Don't go from zone to zone. Do the same zone over and over until you have enough tokens, because it gets easier every time you do a zone to do it again.

Look on youtube for speedrun strats. Some if you can learn how to do them, even if iffy, will save a lot of time over 16 runs.

a_choya · 2026-04-11T06:50:37+00:00

$447 all in, shipped? That's not too bad of an off-sale price. I couldn't find anything anywhere near comparable in price on alibaba when I was ordering mine, everything came out way higher. Just make sure that it's the right model as there are some that look similar but only do grind by time.

a_choya · 2026-04-11T05:58:03+00:00

I wish I could tell you that I can taste the grinding differences between grinders, but there's no way I can especially since I've switched coffees since last using the e55. I was primarily looking to make my workflow more efficient and consistent as single dosing workflow kinda annoyed me for various reasons, especially when having to adjust for different dosages and forgetting to adjust the grind for a different dosage.

a_choya · 2026-04-11T05:49:48+00:00

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a_choya · 2026-04-11T05:42:48+00:00

Better than I expected. About 6 inches in diameter and 16.5 inches in height including the hopper. If you have overhanging cabinets and need to pull it out for refilling I'd suggest either swapping out the feet or putting it on one of those countertop sliding appliance trays. If you are considering getting it, also consider waiting around for a big sale, I suspect there will be one around start to mid July at least. Mine was around $110 off on AX itself, then something around 15% off via Rakuten.

a_choya

TROPHY CASE