Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have had experience with four separate units of this grinder over the last ~ 5 years, plus 1 unit of the prior model for ~4 years prior, so I feel that I am in a good position to evaluate the Virtuoso's strengths and weaknesses. The good: I have found the grind options to be very good - resulting in consistent crema on my espresso (first with a Gaggia Coffee and then a Gaggia Classic), quality espresso using a stove-top unit, and quality drip coffee using both a standard coffeemaker and a single-serving cone. There is minimal static and I have not noted clumping. The hopper, silicone gaskets and burr can be easily removed for maintenance. The pulse button is really convenient for touch-up grinding. The bad: The grinder knob is minimally anchored and so it commonly falls off onto the counter. Not a game changer, but irritating and consistent across units. (Eventually my parents superglued their control knob on to prevent it from getting lost.) The only way to empty the hopper for cleaning is to turn the whole machine upside-down. This isn't a big deal unless you are using a machine for multiple purposes (decaf vs regular, espresso vs drip) and like to grind on demand for best flavor. (Of course, if you really want the best flavor, you won't leave beans in the hopper anyway.) Coffee likes to hover in the burr and then shower down onto the counter when the collection bin is pulled out. Although the burr is easily removed for service, the grind fineness generally shifts after replacement even with careful seating of the burr on replacement. This means that you have to rediscover the 'sweet spot' each time you service the machine. The ugly: In spite of other peoples' experience, i have found the Virtuoso to have a very limited lifespan. To date, I have had two Virtuosos die after 2 years of daily use (two lattes per day), in spite of careful service. For the first unit of mine that died, I tried the Baratza reconditioning service -- which resulted in me being without a grinder for weeks while they 'repaired' mine and then having them send my 'repaired like new' grinder back in a still broken state. They finally refunded my money, after a lot of hassle and carrying on. Trusting other people's claims of 12 year lifespan, I bought a second unit which just failed today. Additionally, the unit I bought my parents died within 14 months of daily use (standard drip coffee). They are on their second unit, which is currently almost 2 years old. Had I known about their grinder failure prior to replacement, I would have steered them away from buying another one based on my unit having died almost simultaneously to theirs. Though I certainly do not expect endless use, I consider recurrent equipment failure between 1 and 2 years of age unacceptable for a grinder of this cost. I definitely won't be buying another Baratza...