This was a step-down purchase for me. For the past 10 or more years I have owned a Rancilio Rocky grinder which costs about 3x more than the Baratza Encore. And in hindsight, it was a stupidly expensive purchase as I never made Expresso or specialty coffees. I just wanted one of the best grinders and at the time I had the financial means to splurge.Now that I am retired, I am a lot more conservative with my spending. That expensive Rancilio grinder finally died and it was time to look for a replacement. The idea here was to find the best bang-for-the-buckgrinder at a price point of under $200. I spent days doing research and found that Barista Encore was constantly rated as the best in class for what I wanted to spend. I placed my order on Amazon and then spent time watching setup videos on YouTube.I had a bit of a rough start. When I unpacked my brand-new Encore I was shocked to find that the gasket included looked nothing like the one I had seen in countless videos and setup guides. Even the included instruction book showed a completely different gasket than the one I received. I panicked. I thought that Baratza made a manufacturing mistake. I placed a phone call to customer service and found that their phones were shut down due to overwhelming demand. So, I fired off an email thinking it would be days before I got a response. Within 15 minutes, a customer service representative emailed me back saying that the company had recently updated their gasket for this model and was unable to include new documentation for it in recent shipments.So, let me just stop here and say that I was extremely impressed by the customer service response. When they were overwhelmed on the phones, they at least had someone watching email inquiries and making certain responses went out within minutes of being contacted.So, let me start with the gasket. For me, after watching all the setup videos, it was the one aspect of putting this Encore together that I was concerned about. The old gasket was cumbersome to align. It was a very smart thing for Barasta to upgrade the gasket. Now, it's considerably smaller, and you can simply plop it into the burr grinder without any difficulty. There are new videos online explaining how to do it, but I can save you time by saying you need to insert the thick end of the gasket into the grinder before installing the hopper.So, to address the most common questions...1. Is it noisy? Yeah, somewhat, but I'm used to it. It's less noisy than the industrial Rancilio Rocky it replaced. And, I can't fathom any coffee grinder that is not going to make a considerable amount of noise.2. Does it leave grinds everywhere? Yes, it does leave traces of grinds in the holder and along the lip of the ground coffee bin. Is it a big deal? No. It's the nature of these grinders. I have a small handheld vacuum to deal with it. A cheap coffee brush is another way to take care of the cleanup. It's minor, to say the least.There is a great accessory you can buy on Amazon for under $14 that will eliminate trace grounds. Look for AIEVE Upgrade Single Dose Hopper. It's a must-buy accessory for your Encore.3. Is it difficult to clean? Not that I can see. The burr grinder is very easy to remove. There is an included brush for cleaning. Every few months I am going to throw in some cleaning tabs and grind it through. I also don't recommend using this grinder for flavored or shiny beans. They tend to leave a lot of gunky residues. If I want flavored coffee, I buy it already ground.4. Is the power cord too thick? I only bring this question up as it's one of those things I read complaints about in review after review. No, it's not. It's the same as my Rancilio Rocky which is considerably thicker than what you would find on a toaster or electric can opener, which is to be expected.5. Is the build quality cheap? While there is a lot more plastic here than I would want to see, from the online videos I have watched, experts believe that the Encore is made of solid materials and built to last for many years. In fact, if you go through a pound of coffee a week, and clean as recommended, the estimated life of this device is 10 years before you need to start replacing anything.From the research I have done, apparently what makes Barasta grinders so popular is that all their parts are serviceable. They are supposed to be very easy to clean and maintain. The company has a library of diagrams that help you navigate their machines.My first grind and cup of coffee were memorable.With some research, I found the perfect grind setting for my Technivorm Moccamaster. That coffee maker requires a more coarse grind so I set my Encore at "20" and poured my beans into the hopper. It is suggested to have the hopper running when you pour your beans in so you are not grinding from a dead stop (which is not good for the blade). I found the resulting grind to be very uniform in appearance.The coffee the grind produced was spectacular. I think I had been using the wrong setting on the Rancilio Rocky for years, grinding my beans slightly more finely (which you want to do with drip coffee makers). This more coarse grind setting produced a more flavorful cup of coffee. I was delighted.The Encore is for most enthusiasts who aren't looking for Expresso grinds. It's the best entry-level conical grinder for anyone that doesn't want something cheap or wants to spend a fortune on a device like this. And to say "entry-level" isn't even fair. There are coffee shops that use these grinders, from what I understand. This brand has been a staple in the coffee community for decades. It has a reputation for being the best in its class.So, I promise to keep using this every day and if it doesn't live up to my expectations, I will update this review regularly and keep everyone aware. For the moment, I am delighted to own this product. If my first cup of coffee is any indication of where things are going, I think we are going to make beautiful java together.