The have been using a spiral block/hammer/pt for about a year and an very pleased, started with a kitty 30 years ago, then a SCM with a tersa block that was very good, have a Vinig four sider and needed a large planer for wide boards, because the cutters cut in sequence you can feed the word slowly and smoothly with very little force and so produce an excellently smooth finish.
Have an A3/26 with the spiral block and love it, I had one of the first in the country. I made a short demo video for the gentlemen on "the other side", as it's known around here, but I'm happy to share the link:
Super quiet, I can happily use it without ear defenders. Extremely accurate and repeatable with the metal hand wheel and gauge. Finish is very smooth, and after 18 months I'm still on the first set of edges. Not blades, edges, and it gets used a lot for an amateur's machine.
I don't have one but I've seen a spiral block in operation, changing the blades might be a lengthy faff and you can't fit back bevel blades for the ultimate in tear out control, but I'd still likely order one if I were specifying a machine today.
