This combined with well roasted beans has come close enough in quality to an espresso from the local coffee bars that I can't tell enough of a difference to merit 'needing' to visit them for good espresso. That's not to say there isn't a ...
Only had the grinder for a few days so I cannot comment on longevity but can comment on quality of the grind. I'm using it for home grinding for my budget espresso machine (Gaggia Classic with A PID installed on it). This combined with well roasted beans has come close enough in quality to an espresso from the local coffee bars that I can't tell enough of a difference to merit 'needing' to visit them for good espresso. That's not to say there isn't a difference (there is), just that my palate isn't currently refined enough to detect an appreciable difference meriting the need to go out for one. Grounds are consistent and capable of choking my machine even at a setting of 9 (out of 31). At an 11 with 4 seconds grind time, I'm getting ~20 grams that are near perfect for my machine. I'm very pleased. Lastly, the noise level isn't as bad as I was expecting. Sure, it's a little loud but not as bad as I was led to believe. Great product initially. Who knows long term.