So anyone doing any comparisons with the older flat burr grinders like Mazzer Majors used at *buck with the newer conical home grinders like baratza vario and so on? I have been using a major for decade and its still works great but I haven't used anything else really for home... I'm looking at something smaller for home ..

I moved from a Major E to HG-One because I am single dosing and the Major was a bit too cumbersome for this. I find the HG-One gives a fluffer grind and the taste of the espresso seems a little "sharper" than the Major. I motorized the HG-One, to make it easier and more reproducible to use. It still takes up a fair amount of space with the motor setup I used.

I had a Baratza Vario-W and now have a Mazzer Major and a Macap M7d with a MIni Vivaldi to brew with. So first the Vario is not a conical it is a flat ceramic burr set. The Major is also flat burr set. With that, I find that the Major is more consistent in it's grind and requires less fiddling with which the Vario-W needed. I liked the Vario-W with it's weight scale, size and how it fits into the kitchen but it tended to need constant fiddling with especially when I changed beans which I like to do. You can pick up a used Major for ~$500 ish but it is a big monster. I single dose and don't use the hoppers btw.

What machine are you brewing on?

And are you planning on using fresh roasted beans or purchasing from 'other' sources?