I currently own a Macap MX. From what I can tell, I feel pretty fortunate to have this nice piece of quality equipment ( got it unused for a killer price ) I have no other experience with any other grinder so the MX is all I know anything about firsthand.

My only frustration with it (other than it's massive size!) is that i cannot "tweak" the grind settings as it is a stepped adjustment grinder. Would a switch to the Vario yield as high a quality output? I understand it is not stepless either however it looks like it may be more tweakable.

I do switch to over to brewed coffee often, the Vario looks more convenient than the MX for this. HOWEVER it is more important for me to improve the quality of my shots than anything else. I'm willing to deal with inconveniences here and there as long as I can get the best possible grind when brewing espresso.

Basically I am just wondering if the Vario would match up or surpass the grind quality/consistency of my Macap MX?

Looks like there is a mod out there for the M4 but none for the larger and less popular MX.

Are you sure the mod doesn't work for both? I thought someone once posted that the same mod did work for one of the bigger machines. I'm pretty sure when you buy them stepless they have the same worm drive so it seems plausible. -Hugh

Guess I need to check that out again! Thanks...

This mod is what I'm still planning to try for my MXAP one of these days.

I added the worm drive assy to my M7K after I bought it. Does your model have the plastic ring on the burr carrier that is held on with phillips screws? If so you could order one for it (differs in size from the M4 models) but you still need to drill and tap 2 holes on the back of the motor housing to screw the adjuster on. Not difficult, but if you are not proficient with drilling nice, strait holes, then take it to a local machine shop.