Hoon posted a video on youtube about installing new SSP Cast Burr in the DF64.
Very positive feedback. Will be watching this closely.

orca987 wrote:Hoon posted a video on youtube about installing new SSP Cast Burr in the DF64.
Very positive feedback. Will be watching this closely.

Can you post a link to that video?

link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAKl9biulU

I always watch Hoon's Coffee, he has good vids on DF64 and SSP burrs. He posted a follow-up video with pour over and SSP Cast Burrs. Espresso shots vids are coming shortly.

Another good channel to watch DF64 content is http://www.youtube.com/c/CaffeMartellaSingapore

My thanks to all who chimed in with thoughts and suggestions. This was very helpful. I went ahead and ordered a Niche Zero. It will ship in one week so no long wait. Seems like there is a lot of motion going on with new grinders answering home enthusiasts needs; some costing $$$. I read most of the Titan Grinder Project on HB which was entertaining and provided a lot of thinking material. Back then, the only options we had were those giant café Titans! Progress I guess! It's also interesting that the TGP speaks of those conicals as being brighter with increased clarity over the Super Jolly which had flat burrs; quite the opposite comparison I hear today for conicals vs flats (most of the time that is). Jeff shed some light on that in his post #18. Thanks for the insight Jeff.

Congrats on yoir decision. As blogger Brian quan recommended, a good option despite getting the niche zero is to pair it with df64 and ssp unimodals. That will offer you a cheap but quality contrast to your conical grinder - I can attest to how good a combo the df64 and the unimodal ssp burrs is, and I really like pairing it with my compak k10 conical.

Yes, I remember that suggestion you made in post #4. I'll keep it mind after living with the Niche for a while. If I go that route, I'll have to decide between the unimodal and the high uniformity burrs. I imagine the flavor contrast between the Niche and the DF64 might be more distinct with the unimodal and the high uniformity might land between the Niche and the unimodal. I've never tried any of these, but that is what I gather from descriptions I've read.

Be careful, as the 64 / 98 naming isn't consistent or even sensible. I wish I had a Post-It Note with the decoder sometimes. (Sowing enough doubt in my mind that I just had to check that the ones I ordered were the ones I intended.)

The Niche was delivered 6-days ARO and there was a holiday in there so it looks like the delays for USA deliveries have been resolved at least for now. I've been using it for 5 days now and I'm a happy home barista! The only thing I have to compare it with, is my aging Rocky which over the years has received multiple modifications, all making it a little more home-use friendly. At the rate I use the Niche, it will take about 10 months for the burrs to be seasoned. Still, all seems well. The biggest differences I notice when comparing to the Rocky are the workflow is a dream, there is no mess or static to speak of, and the retention is low enough that I don't notice it, although I haven't attempted to measured it. Maybe I won't get around to that since it seems to be in the non-problem range. The grinds appear uniform and fluffy, and take up quite a bit more volume, gram for gram, after puck prep and tamping in the basket. Zeroing in the grind was easier than I'm used to, and the shots pull with more consistency, no tunneling, and a more even flow seen at the bottom of my naked portafilter. The result is the flavor in my cup is very consistent from shot to shot, day to day, and quite a bit more so, compared against the Rocky.
So far, I've only been using a SO Brazil Daterra coffee roasted to 265deg F (well into the 2nd crack). Just for fun, I tried an informal taste test. I'm not sure if my pallet is as skilled as some others that try this kind of thing. In the first trial the rocky pulled a little unevenly (pretty common for the Rocky with this bean) and this resulted in a shot that was a little sour and harsh on the finish. The Niche was very nice, smooth, and fuller in body. In the second trial, I got the rocky to behave, and both shots pulled near identical. The flavor was very close. On first sips, I liked the Niche better and felt that it had its usual fuller, smooth body with a subtle hint maybe of chocolate. The Rocky was also quite good but I detected just a small hint of the objectionable sour harshness but again it was a nice cup. As the cups cooled, the differences soon became less and less clear and I'm not sure I could have discerned any had it been a blind test.
Bottom line, is I'm pretty happy my purchase right now. Oh, I should say the Niche has a far nicer sound to it and the external looks suggest a solid build quality. Of course I've had the Rocky for ever and probably still will, although I don't see it getting much use anymore!

Sounds like you are happy. Also happy NZ user. Just a couple months of use. Probably older than most on this site. Pulling shots since '81. Like a previous poster do remember the alt.coffee days, the beginning of coffeegeek after 9/11. Also maybe why I prefer conical burr for espresso. Have owned a bunch of hand grinders and a number of electric (Mazzer, Baratza, Macaps). The NZ "disappears". Smoothly fits into the workflow with no fuss and annoyances. Yields a high quality grind. Was reasonably priced. If the grinder as long as the burr life I will be more than happy.

One thing that hasn't changed much from the alt days are how hung up we are with hardware. How things "trend" and become the "best or better". Quality hardware can enhance good water, beans, operator in yielding a good to "god" shot. But cannot turn a poor operator, beans, water into a good drink.