Cuprajake
Jim is deeply experienced, but as he is the first to say, not a Mechanical Engineer. When he has issues or questions that demand such knowledge, he defers to others as he did to Dave in the Niche Zero review. Jim is friends with Jake_G on H-B, who is a very fine Mechanical Engineer, located in the MidWest USA not too far from Jim. When flummoxed, he invokes his assistance, as he did when reviewing one of the DF grinders that had so much wrong that he was at a loss to figure out the order of wrongness.
The H-B Philos review is not finished. The samples have moved on to others, and likely one at least is an ME. The Zerno review has just started, but I expect the same process to occur there.
The Niche Duo is exceptional so many ways including the thoroughness of testing. I do not think any of the 64mm grinder firms, except Mazzer, has the resources to be so thorough. As to whether Mazzer was this assiduous is unknown at this time. I’d like to think they were because it is an important product for them, entering a new market segment, and a first design by the heir to the company, who will be CEO eventually. That they should have been, doesn’t mean they were. I am very interested in seeing an ME review that provides factual data one way or the other.
One funny thing to note, similar to the Niche Duo. The coffee lemmings are clamoring to put SSP burrs in this as they did with the Duo. To put them in before they’ve even had a hands on with the grinder, and despite Jim and implicitly, Dan, saying the new Mazzer burrs produce an outstanding result ! the SSP sheep …