I bought my Sette 270Wi 3.5 years ago and overall I couldn't be happier with it. Yes, I had to replace the gearbox once (which is not a very expensive or time consuming affair), and yes, it's noisy. Its pros however far outweigh the cons. I previously owned a flat-burr Compak K3 (and before that a conical-burr Iberital Challenge) and the Sette is a clear step up in shot taste, mouthfeel and consistency, but the main things that I love about it are related to functionality and workflow:

• Fluffy and clump-free grind which does not require WDT. Pulling single shots with no channeling doesn't require much effort. My workflow does involves a few finger taps around the side of the basket for horizontal distribution of the ground coffee mound, knocking down for vertical distribution and an OCD-like distribution/leveler tool, but these are all much quicker in practice than massaging the ground coffee with a WDT tool.
• Almost no static, so no need for RDT either. The Sette is not a very messy grinder, but it might have something to do with my preference for single shots. It is messier with double shots.
• Excellent for on-demand grinding. The grinder has a built in Acaia scale for automatic weighing, three separate presets that can be configured with 0.1 resolution, and a fork that securely holds the portafilter while grinding. When I'm hosting, grinding shot after shot after shot is a breeze, and even if I have to adjust grind level the amount in the cup remains the same (unlike on-demand grinders that use a timer). Automatic weighing is a feature that should be far more common in grinders than it is.
• Decent for single dosing. The 270Wi has very low retention and works very well for single dosing, even without a bellows/blower cap. I frequently single dose because I like to switch between different kinds of beans. My usual workflow is to manually weigh 0.5 gram more than I need (e.g. 12.5 instead of 12.0) and use that extra 0.5 gram a bit like a buffer between grinds. Before putting the beans in the hopper, I grind what's left from the previous grind (usually 0.5 gram), put the beans in, and let the automatic scaling get me the amount I need - 12.0 gram. I leave that extra 0.5 gram in the grinder, for two purposes - to prevent popcorning, and for purging the burrs in the next grind. This method is a bit wasteful, but ensures I'm not using any stale coffee and don't have to deal with popcorning. For some less frequently used beans (e.g. decaf) I store vials in the freezer with just the right amount (12.5 gram). I don't bother with thawing the beans before grinding and it works very well.
• It's fast. The noise is far less of an issue when grinding finishes so quickly. And it's a non-issue at night because I just use my manual grinder if I want coffee after my family has already gone to bed. A manual grinder is quieter than any electronic one, so to me it's the perfect complement to the Sette.

Bottom line: I would buy the 270Wi again if I was in the market for an espresso grinder today. In fact, other than the etzinger version (etzMAX light-W) I don't see a grinder I would prefer, and that one costs 4 times more. I'll keep the Sette thank you very much.

I second this with the very same experiences!

BUT: it's ugly and really loud

HB is a mainly American oriented form but across the pond you'll find some more etzMAX owners, including me. It's like a Sette 270Wi on steroid, replacing everything plastic with alloys. I agree on all your positives and it's likely only the build quality that significantly differs, so that's a good thing. Unfortunately at 3-4 times the costs, but ah well. At least it shows for it.

I had the Sette 270Wi a while back, but sold it because I couldn't get over the noise. It is loud!!! How loud is Etzmax?

I have the same question.

I started with a Sette 30 for use with pourover and espresso before I understood it was more designed more for espresso. One of the things I love about the Sette is the ability to upgrade. After I upgraded to the 270 adjustment ring my espresso really came alive.

Ypuh wrote:HB is a mainly American oriented form but across the pond you'll find some more etzMAX owners, including me. It's like a Sette 270Wi on steroid, replacing everything plastic with alloys. I agree on all your positives and it's likely only the build quality that significantly differs, so that's a good thing. Unfortunately at 3-4 times the costs, but ah well. At least it shows for it.

I would love to have an etzmax!

After replacing the gearbox the grinder is far less noisy compared to before the failure, possibly less than it was at any time in the past. Could it be that Baratza changed something about the design or materials of the gearbox?

Those who are concerned about the noise may find these DIY improvements interesting:

Quieting the Baratza Sette - 4 reversible mods tried & tested

I had a sette 270wi and completely agree with OP. It's a great and fast grinder if you are good with the noise. I also had the gearbox go bad and Baratza replaced it free, with no fuss, and the parts arrived in a just a few days. Their support is awesome!

I treated myself to a Eureka Specialita with a work bonus and gave the Sette to my adult son, but I would buy another in a heartbeat.

baristainzmking wrote:I had the Sette 270Wi a while back, but sold it because I couldn't get over the noise. It is loud!!! How loud is Etzmax?

EtzMax owner here as well. And... I owned a Sette 270W before! So I know the 'jet taking off' experience . The EtzMax is actually a very quiet grinder. Completely the opposite from the Sette. In fact, I owned an Eureka Atom in between these grinders which was marketed for it's 'silence' which was something I was looking for after the Sette. The Atom was considerably quieter then the Sette but you know what... the EtzMax is even considerably quieter! The big difference with the Sette comes from the burrs being belt driven instead of gear driven. And the EtzMax enclosure being metal will off-course also help. The noisy parts in the Sette are clearly not the burrs themselves which are similar to the EtzMax.

To give you an idea, my coffee routine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqQqWw31u4

The beep the EtzMax makes is exactly the same as with the Sette, it's the same type of Acaia electronics. that you also find in their Lunar scale that also makes the same beep. So that should be able give you an idea of the sound level in my video.

The EtzMax is a great grinder and I hope to be able to use mine for a long time. I was lucky and was able to buy a minimally used Plus W example for a steep discount relative to it's new price. A chance I couldn't pass on knowing it's quilities as a grinder from the Sette.

Note: according to the specs sheet overview of Etzinger the Plus version which I have is quieter than the medium and light versions with 66 instead of 73 dB(a). I don't know why that is I thought the only difference between the Plus and Medium was an extra cooling fan for 'rush hour operation'. Link to specs: https://etzinger-ag.com/XooWebKit/bin/d ... etzMAX.pdf

baristainzmking wrote:I had the Sette 270Wi a while back, but sold it because I couldn't get over the noise. It is loud!!! How loud is Etzmax?

I've got the LightW which should be overkill for any home user already. It's kinda loud (louder than the Mignon XL it replaced), but not in an annoying way. It's also blazing fast so not much of an issue at all.

Overall a very pleasant to use grinder that probably will last ages in a home environment. For a commercial setting (what they pretend to be) I'd probably go with something like a Mahlkonig E65S instead. It's more focussed at the demanding home user due to the little retention, GbW which can be a bit too sensitive (people walking around can impact the accuracy) and the motor is very powerful in a homesetting, but likely not up to tens of activations per hour.

It took me weeks/months of research before buying and it's one of the better decisions I made. If the durability holds up for 10+ years, I don't know what could be improved.