I've had the rocky and the Vario.

Vario wins hands down. Less grind retention on the chute, better macro adjustment. (almost like a stepless grinder). Great versatility for drip to espresso for the regular consumer.

Well over a decade ago the Rocky was a go-to grinder for entry level home baristas. I bought one in late 2000 and it was at that time "the" grinder for the home. Since then it has remained unchanged, unfortunately. Rancilio could have made it stepless but that would have meant retooling and greater quality control for more precision in the adjustment threads. is it a decent grinder? Decent enough for a lot of uses except espresso. it produced a clumpy dense grind, and in its stock form gave the user their choice of two "clicks" for espresso, if they were lucky. Espresso is all about grinder adjustment, and the greater the adjustment range the better. That is why the large conicals are so well respected. The Baratza offerings with the micro adjustment are worthy choices for those who can't (or won't) spend the money on something like the HG-one, Kony, Major, Robur, Compak K-10, etc., etc.