Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Rancilio Silvia Pro X
AheadThe verdict
Rancilio Silvia Pro X is narrowly ahead, 7.3 to Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881's 7.1. It leads on shot quality & extraction and build quality & durability.
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 costs $695.05 less.
Who each one suits
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Scores higher on ease of use & learning curve, maintenance & cleaning, workflow & ergonomics.
Rancilio Silvia Pro X
The Silvia grown up: two boilers, two PIDs and soft infusion in a 25 cm wide body
Scores higher on shot quality & extraction, build quality & durability.
How they score, criterion by criterion
Both are scored the same way against the rest of their category, from what their makers publish. The weight is how much each criterion moves the total. How the score works
| Criterion | Weight in category | Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Rancilio Silvia Pro X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot Quality & Extraction | 22% | 5.8 | 10.0 |
| Build Quality & Durability | 16% | 7.2 | 8.9 |
| Steam Power & Milk Texturing | 16% | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Ease of Use & Learning Curve | 12% | 8.0 | 4.0 |
| Maintenance & Cleaning | 12% | 10.0 | 7.5 |
| Workflow & Ergonomics | 12% | 8.8 | 8.1 |
| Value for Money | 10% | 3.5 | 2.5 |
What each one costs
| Price | $1,499.95 | $2,195.00 |
Where they differ
Every specification the two makers publish differently. Everything they match on is in the full table below.
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Rancilio Silvia Pro X | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,499.95 | $2,195.00 |
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | The Silvia grown up: two boilers, two PIDs and soft infusion in a 25 cm wide body |
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Body Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel, with a brass brew group |
| Boiler | — | 2 |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | Dual boiler: an insulated brass coffee boiler of 0.3 litre and a steam boiler of 1 litre |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | Stainless steel, black, white and pink |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | 250 x 420 x 390, published as 9.8 x 16.5 x 15.3 in (W x D x H) |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Dose Grams | — | Rancilio's own sites disagree: ranciliogroup.com lists 8/16 g baskets and its US site ranciliogroupna.com lists 8/18 g |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | A wood tamper with a stainless steel flat base |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic dual boiler espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | Silvia Pro X |
| PID control | — | ✓ |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | Chrome-plated brass |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | 58 mm |
| Power on Timer | — | ✓ |
| Power | 1750 W | 950 to 1000 on the 120 V model |
| Pre Infusion | — | ✓ |
| Pressure Gauge | — | ✓ |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | $2,195, Rancilio's US MSRP on ranciliogroupna.com |
| Shot Timer | — | ✓ |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Multi-directional stainless steel steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | 120 V, 60 Hz in the US |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 2 L |
| Weight | — | 20, published as 44.1 lb |
Pros and cons
From each full review, written from the same published facts as the scores above.
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
- +Hands-free milk texturing with settings for dairy, almond, oat and soy.
- +The Impress lever tamps at a set pressure and corrects the next dose.
- +Heats to extraction temperature in 3 seconds, Breville's ThermoJet figure.
- +Thirty grind settings on hardened steel Baratza burrs.
- +A 340 gram hopper, larger than the 227 grams on the Barista Touch.
- −$1,499.95, about $500 more than the Barista Touch listed on this site.
- −Breville publishes no pump pressure, pre-infusion detail, warranty or weight for it.
- −No pressure gauge is listed; the touchscreen is the feedback.
- −54 mm portafilter, not the 58 mm the Oracle Jet uses.
Rancilio Silvia Pro X
- +Two boilers with a PID controller each, so brew and steam temperatures are both set exactly.
- +Variable Soft Infusion, an adjustable low pressure pre-infusion.
- +A brass group and chrome-plated brass portafilter, built like a commercial machine.
- +Only 250 mm wide, narrow for a dual boiler.
- +A pressure gauge and a display that doubles as a shot timer.
- −$2,195, and no grinder.
- −Rancilio's two sites disagree on basket size: 8/16 g on one, 8/18 g on the other.
- −No published pump type, warranty or warm-up time.
- −20 kg, which is a machine you place once and leave.
Every specification, side by side
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Rancilio Silvia Pro X | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price | $1,499.95 | $2,195.00 |
| Who it suits | ||
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | The Silvia grown up: two boilers, two PIDs and soft infusion in a 25 cm wide body |
| Specifications | ||
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Body Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel, with a brass brew group |
| Boiler | — | 2 |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | Dual boiler: an insulated brass coffee boiler of 0.3 litre and a steam boiler of 1 litre |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | Stainless steel, black, white and pink |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | 250 x 420 x 390, published as 9.8 x 16.5 x 15.3 in (W x D x H) |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Dose Grams | — | Rancilio's own sites disagree: ranciliogroup.com lists 8/16 g baskets and its US site ranciliogroupna.com lists 8/18 g |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | A wood tamper with a stainless steel flat base |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic dual boiler espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | Silvia Pro X |
| PID control | — | ✓ |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | Chrome-plated brass |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | 58 mm |
| Power on Timer | — | ✓ |
| Power | 1750 W | 950 to 1000 on the 120 V model |
| Pre Infusion | — | ✓ |
| Pressure Gauge | — | ✓ |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | $2,195, Rancilio's US MSRP on ranciliogroupna.com |
| Shot Timer | — | ✓ |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Multi-directional stainless steel steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | 120 V, 60 Hz in the US |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 2 L |
| Weight | — | 20, published as 44.1 lb |
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Rancilio Silvia Pro X: common questions
Which is better, Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Rancilio Silvia Pro X?
Rancilio Silvia Pro X scores 7.3 against 7.1, both computed from published specifications rather than opinion. Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 is still ahead on ease of use & learning curve.
Is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Rancilio Silvia Pro X cheaper?
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 starts at $1,499.95, and Rancilio Silvia Pro X at $2,195.00.
Who is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 for?
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Who is Rancilio Silvia Pro X for?
The Silvia grown up: two boilers, two PIDs and soft infusion in a 25 cm wide body
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