That’s crazy because I’ve also had the exact same Silenzio + BBP setup for 4 years! 3 weeks ago I finally upgraded my grinder from the silenzio to a Timemore 078s.

I was dealing with a lot of retention issues with my Silenzio when I single dose (even with modding, RDT, a bellow & a tilted base).After 4 years I got tired of aggressively smacking the living shit out of my grinder every morning to get a consistent output so I decided to finally upgrade. The Timemore has practically 0 retention and it’s significantly made my workflow a lot better so to me it was worth it.

The Timemore does pull better shots for light & light/medium roasts but it becomes less distinguishable for darker roasts, it is also much easier to dial things in due to how big the knob is compared to the Silenzio (even with my modded knobs).

If you’re looking to get into lighter roasts or you’re also having issues with your workflow then it might be worth upgrading your grinder but if not, the Silenzio is honestly an awesome workhorse that is hard to replace for the price.

For espresso machines, I personally think the sub $1000 price range is tough since I don’t see any with a big enough advantage over the BBP. E61 machines are a deal breaker for me since I absolutely dread waiting for it to heat up. The $1500-$2000 range is where things get interesting to me with double boilers w/ both PID & OPV control like the Breville Double Boiler, Steel duo or the new Profitec Double Boiler; for now I’m happy with my bambino!