Sculptor 078

I think it absolutely would. At the $500 mark, there are many good grinders. It's worth asking what kind of cup you enjoy and what type of roast you prefer. This will help you narrow down a grinder.

Since you mostly drink lighter roasts, that helps narrow it down to the A4Z and 078. I have the Fellow and it's not bad at lighter roasts but they don't quite shine with it like the other two. If you want ultimate clarity and are OK with a very light mouth feel the A4Z is the one to go for. If you prefer a more balanced cup the 078 is the one to go for. Mind you, all three will be significant step ups from your Encore. The Ode opens up more after about 1 kg of coffee. The 078 after a few more.

If you're using the grinder exclusively for pour over you're better off skipping the 64S and going for the 078 or the Ode Gen 2. 64S is an excellent all rounder but it doesn't really excel at filter. Ode Gen 2 will give you lovely juicy cups but do you know if you're looking for complexity or clarity? For clarity the ZP6 is the winner but it is noted for having a thinner body. I've seen tea like used as a descriptor. The M01 gives you complexity and a better body but not as much clarity as you'd hope. It's also suited to a wider variety of beans than the ZP6 which is mostly for light and ultra light stuff. I started out with a Timemore C3 ESP and then made the jump to an Ode Gen 2 because it gives me a nice balance of body and complexity with enough clarity to highlight a note or two.

100 K6 200 ZP6 (I own personally and really love) 400 Ode gen 2 (or find one on Facebook gen 1 for less than 200 and you can leave as is or put in ssp, have also done, totally worth it, but the alignment was rough) 600 Timemore 064S with ssp burrs 800 Timemore 078 I have experience with all of these grinders except the K6, but it gets a lot of recs, so I feel like it’s definitely worth recommending for the price point. I can personally recommend that these are worth their price points before diminishing returns and give you a range of prices under $1000. I’d stay clear of encores. I’ve owned 2 and personally really don’t like them, especially at the price point—you’d be waaaay better served by a hand grinder.

It's also not that good for pour overs. I owned one for two years, and sold it to get a Timemore Sculptor 078, which is much better. Even with the Sculptor 064 you'll likely get better pour over, and they cost the same or slightly less than a Niche.

I used to own the Niche, replaced it with the 078 and now I don't feel like I will be buying a new grinder any time soon. It's fantastic for pour overs, and I stopped drinking espressos

Unironically if you are claritymaxxing and you don’t mind hand grinding, this is gonna get you better cup quality (in terms of clarity) than the timemore 078. Though if you’re grinding electric I would really buy that with the turbo burrs.

Which 078 are you talking about? I have a 078 with SSP burrs and works really well for Pour overs. love the clarity