Gen 2

You can get a DF64 gen 2 for $399. I have one and i have really liked using it so far.

I have loved my df64 gen 2 regardless of what everyone else says. No retention no fuss just align the burrs and it’s been a workhorse daily for like 2 years. It’s pretty cheap all things considered.

Seconding all the comments for the DF64 Gen 2. I have the Gen 1 and it's great, but it looks like the Gen 2 solves a lot of the QoL issues the gen1 has (long distance between the chute and the dosing cup, for one). The burr alignment thing is dead easy - you can check before turning it on after adju

Baratza encore esp, encore esp pro, and sette 270 are all going to offer the fine adjustment you want with espresso, and potentially come with baratza's very good customer service. The fellow opus gen 2 might be amazing value for the price but it's still an unknown. The varia vs3 is good except for

That's the df64N, also known as the DF64 gen 2. It has built in ioniser so coffee grounds doesn't fly around as much and get stuck at spout. I transit from a Timemore c2 hand grinder so definitely a huge upgrade. But I took the df64 as there is a lot of parts like burr if you want to upgrade from th

I would totally go for electric DF64 Gen 2. In fact even for ~20K I'd go for G5 than a manual grinder. I'd only go for a manual as a travel fall-back within 10k. Also, unless you are brewing espresso, it is not easy to differentiate between coffee ground in conical/g5 and flat/DF64.