I was looking for my first real grinder recently and settled on the Sette. Initially was going to get the 270, but got a 30 for about $175, if you count Crate and Barrel points as cash. I seriously regret going down to the 30, though. The online video from Baratza said ten is a good starting point, but most people use a setting around 7. Wasted a lot of coffee discovering that I didn't get anything out of the Bambino Plus until around 13 and then it was a thick brown sludge. Setting 14 gave me caffeinated water. If I'd paid the full $250, I would probably have returned the unit.

In the end, I got the adjustment ring off the 270 for an additional $100 after shipping. A new setting of 7C gave me something resembling espresso. Still need to dial it in. The new ring hangs too low for the portafilter pegs, though, so I have to just free hold it or grind into the cup. Would it have been that hard to lower the pegs a half inch? At least they sell a holder that hangs lower. I feel like the bad design on this unit is intentional at this point. Unless you get a super deal on the 30 and plan on spending an additional hundred and not using the pegs, the 270 is probably worth it.

The grind that it produces now is great, though (for what its worth). I should be able to finish dialing it in tomorrow.

keep the shims.. on mine.. within a month, I had it at the lowest setting and it still wasn't fine enough.. You then install a shim and it takes you up to the 10 or better setting.. This is normal on this grinder as the burrs wear in.

That's good to know. And to be clear, I figured I'd get the better ring at some point, I just didn't expect it to be completely unusable without it.

I did the same thing, purchased the Sette 30 at a discount from Bed Bath and Beyond and a 20% off coupon on top of that. I used it stock for a couple months before upgrading the adjustment ring. Coming from a Rancilio Rocky, the Sette 30 was actually an improvement and I got good enough results for milk drinks by tweaking the dose +/- 0.5g to make up for lack of finer adjustment. With the 270 adjustment ring, I seem to have no issue dialing in the grind to meet whatever shot duration I'm aiming for. I still have a ways to go on dialing in all the parameters though.

The portafilter forks are adjustable (pull out and stick them back in at a different angle) and my 58mm portafilter fits just fine even with a dosing funnel... give that a try? I do prefer dosing into a cup though.

I've installed one shim and am grinding anywhere between a 6F and 9B, depending on the bean and still have the other shim in case it drifts.

I guess I could have adjusted the dose, but the Breville manual recommends 19 grams for the best flavor. I'm actually trying to keep it at 18 as that seems to be the standard around here. Changing the dose would seem to throw all the other variables off, too.

My guess is that the 54mm portafilter is slightly deeper than a 58mm. If I leave it on the pegs, the last couple grams back up and then end up falling everywhere except where they should. Its easier to just hold it lower and only takes a few seconds. I think its going to be a good grinder, and if I cared about the extra features, I'd have gotten the 270 from the start. Its just disappointing when you have to start modifying something out of the box.